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THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 

OF  CALIFORNIA 

LOS  ANGELES 


FROM  THE  LIBRARY  OF 

JIM  TULLY 

GIFT  OF 
MRS.  JIM  TULLY 


THE  COMING  OF  CUCULAIN 


By  the  same  Author. 

The  Cuculain  Cycle. 

I. — The  Comikq  op  Cuculain. 
II. — In  thk  Gates  of  thb  North. 
III.— The  Triumph  and  Fassino  of  Cu- 


Historical  Tales. 

The  Flight  of  thb  Eagle.     The  story 

of  Red  Hugh  O'Donnell. 
Ulrick  thk  Ready.  A  historical  romance 

oi  the  Elizabethan  wars  in  Ireland. 


Modern  Stories. 

The  Chain  of  Gold,  a  boy's  tale  of  ad- 
venture on  the  west  coast  of  Ireland. 

Lost  on  Do-Corrig,  or  'Twixt  Earth 
and  Ocean. 


^^^ 


Digitized  by  tine  Internet  Arciiive 

in  2007  witii  funding  from 

IVIicrosoft  Corporation 


littp://www.arcli  ive.org/details/comingofcuculainOOograiala 


'If  tbe  boy  comes  now,  ere  I  can  chain  the  dog, 
verily  he  will  be  torn  into  small  pieces." 


THE    COMING 
OF  CUCULAIN 


BY 

STANDISH  O'GRADY 

Author  o/ 

'the  triumph  and  passing  of  cucdlain'' 

"in  the  gates  of  the  north" 

"the  flight  of  the  eagle" 

ETC, 


NEW   YORK: 
FREDERICK   A.   STOKES   COMPANY 

PUBLISHERS 


Printed  at 

The  Talbot  Press,  Ltd. 

89  Talbot  Street 

Dublin 


!       College 

PB 

PREFACE         \Ha'3 

C^Oss- 

There  are  three  great  cycles  of  Gaelic  literature. 
The  first  treats  of  the  gods  ;  the  second  of  the 
Red  Branch  Knights  of  Ulster  and  their  contem- 
poraries ;  the  third  is  the  so-called  Ossianic.  Of 
the  Ossianic,  Finn  is  the  chief  character  ;  of  the 


Red  Branch  cycle,  Cuculain,  the  hero  of  our  tale. 
Cuculain  and  his  friends  are  historical  char- 
acters,  seen  as  it  were  through  mists  of  love 
and  wonder,  whom  men  could  not  forget,  but 
for  centuries  continued  to  celebrate  in  countless 
songs  and  stories.  They  were  not  literary 
phantoms,  but  actual  existences ;  imaginary 
and  fictitious  characters,  mere  creatures  of  idle 
fancy,  do  not  live  and  flourish  so  in  the  world's 
memory.  And  as  to  the  gigantic  stature  and 
superhuman  prowess  and  achievements  of  those 
antique  heroes,  it  must  not  be  forgotten  that 
all  art  magnifies,  as  if  in  obedience  to  some  strong 
law  ;  and  so,  even  in  our  own  times,  Grattan, 
where  he  stands  in  artistic  bronze,  is  twice  as 
great  as  the  real  Grattan  thundering  in  the 
Senate.  I  will  therefore  ask  the  reader,  re- 
membering  the  large  manner  of  the  antique 

V 

840292 


Vi  PREFACE 

literature  from  which  our  tale  is  drawn,  to  forget 
for  a  while  that  there  is  such  a  thing  as  scientific 
history,  to  give  his  imagination  a  holiday,  and 
follow  with  kindly  interest  the  singular  story  of 
the  boyhood  of  Cuculain,  "  battle-prop  of  the 
valour  and  torch  of  the"  chivalry  -of-  the 
Ultonians." 

I  have  endeavoured  so  to  tell  the  story  as  to 
give  a  general  idea  of  the  cycle,  and  of  primitive 
heroic  Irish  life  as  reflected  in  that  literature,  lay- 
ing the  cycle,  so  far  as  accessible,  under  contri- 
bution to  furnish  forth  the  tale.  Within  a  short 
compass  I  would  bring  before  swift  modern 
readers  the  more  striking  aspects  of  a  literature 
so  vast  and  archaic  as  to  repel  all  but  students. 


CONTENTS 


PACK 

Introduction  by  A.  E.     -  -  -  -    ix 

CHAPTER 

I.    The  Red  Branch   -  -  -  -      1 

II.    The  Boys  of  the  Ui,tonians       -  -     11 

III.  Dsthcaen's  Nursung       -  -  -     16 

IV.  Setanta  runs  away          -           -  -    21 
V.    The  New  Boy         -            -            -  -    33 

VI.    The  Smith's  Supper  Party  -  -    45 

VII.    Setanta  and  the  Smith's  Dog  -    49 

VIII.    Setanta,  the  Peace-maker         -  -    56 

IX.    The  Champion  and  the  King     -  -    66 

X.     Deirdre        -  -  -  -  -    71 

XI.    There  was  War  in  Ulster         -  -    92 

XII.    The  Sacred  Chariot        -  -  -    99 

XIII.  The  Weird  Horses  -  -  -  106 

XIV.  The  Knighting  of  Cuculain       -  -  115 
XV.    Across  the  Hearings  and  Away  -  139 

XVI.    The  Return  of  Cucui,ain  -  -161 


STANDISH    O'QRADY 


A     TRIBUTB    BY    A.    E. 


In  this  age  we  read  so  much  that  we  lay  too 
great  a  burden  on  the  imagination.  It  is  unable 
to  create  images  which  are  the  spiritual  equiva- 
lent of  the  words  on  the  printed  page,  and 
reading  becomes  for  too  many  an  occupation  of 
the  eye  rather  than  of  the  mind.  How  rarely 
— out  of  the  multitude  of  volumes  a  man  reads 
in  his  lifetime — can  he  remember  where  or  when 
he  read  any  particular  book,  or  with  any  vivid- 
ness recall  the  mood  it  evoked  in  him.  When  I 
close  my  eyes,  and  brood  in  memory  over  the 
books  which  most  profoundly  affected  me,  I  find 
none  excited  my  imagination  more  thanStandish 
O'Grady's  epical  narrative  of  Cuculain.  Whit- 
man said  of  his  Leaves  of  Grass,  ' '  Camerado, 

ix 


X  INTRODUCTION 

this  is  no  book :  who  touches  this  touches  a  man'* 
and  O'Grady  might  have  boasted  of  his  Bardic 
History  of  Ireland,  written  with  his  whole 
being,  that  there  was  more  than  a  man  in  it, 
there  was  the  soul  of  a  people,  its  noblest  and 
most  exalted  life  symbolised  in  the  story  of  one 
heroic  character. 

With  reference  to  Ireland,  I  was  at  the  time 
I  read  like  many  others  who  were  bereaved  of 
the  history  of  their  race.  I  was  as  a  man  who, 
through  some  accident,  had  lost  memory  of  his 
past,  who  could  recall  no  more  than  a  few 
months  of  new  life,  and  could  not  say  to  what 
songs  his  cradle  had  been  rocked,  what  mother 
had  nursed  him,  who  were  the  playmates  of 
childhood  or  by  what  woods  and  streams  he  had 
wandered.  When  I  read  O'Grady  I  was  as 
such  a  man  who  suddenly  feels  ancient  memories 
rushing  at  him,  and  knows  he  was  born  in  a 
royal  house,  that  he  had  mixed  with  the  mighty 
of  heaven  and  earth  and  had  the  very  noblest  for 
his  companions.  It  was  the  memory  of  race 
which  rose  up  within  me  as  I  read,  and  I  felt 
exalted  as  one  who  learns  he  is  among  the 


INTRODUCTION  XI 

children  of  kings.  That  is  what  O'Grady  did 
for  me  and  for  others  who  were  my  contem- 
poraries, and  I  welcome  these  reprints  of  his 
tales  in  the  hope  that  he  will  go  on  magically 
recreating  for  generations  yet  unborn  the 
ancestral  life  of  their  race  in  Ireland.  For 
many  centuries  the  youth  of  Ireland  as  it  grew 
up  was  made  aware  of  the  life  of  bygone  ages, 
and  there  were  always  some  who  remade  them- 
selves in  the  heroic  mould  before  they  passed  on. 
The  sentiment  engendered  by  the  Gaelic  litera- 
ture was  an  arcane  presence,  though  unconscious 
of  itself,  in  those  who  for  the  past  hundred  years 
had  learned  another  speech.  In  O'Grady's 
writings  the  submerged  river  of  national  culture 
rose  up  again,  a  shining  torrent,  and  I  realised 
as  I  bathed  in  that  stream,  that  the  greatest 
spiritual  evil  one  nation  could  inflict  on  another 
was  to  cut  off  from  it  the  story  of  the  national 
soul.  For  not  all  music  can  be  played  upon  any 
instrument,  and  human  nature  for  most  of  us  is 
like  a  harp  on  which  can  be  rendered  the  music 
written  for  the  harp  but  not  that  written  for 
the  violin.       The  harp  strings  quiver  for  the 


Xll  INTRODUCTION 

har/p-'player  alone,  and  he  who  can  utter  his 
passion  through  the  violin  is  silent  before  an 
unfamiliar  instrument.  That  is  why  the  Irish 
have  rarely  been  deeply  stirred  by  English 
literature  though  it  is  one  of  the  great  litera- 
tures of  the  world.  Our  history  was  different 
and  the  evolutionary  product  was  a  peculiarity 
of  character,  and  the  strings  of  our  being  vibrate 
most  in  ecstasy  when  the  music  evokes  ancestral 
moods  or  embodies  emotions  akin  to  these.  I 
am  not  going  to  argue  the  comparative  worth 
of  the  Gaelic  and  English  tradition.  All  I  can 
say  is  that  the  traditions  of  our  own  country 
move  us  more  than  the  traditions  of  any  other. 
Even  if  there  was  not  essential  greatness  in 
them  we  would  love  them  for  the  same  reasons 
which  bring  back  so  many  exiles  to  revisit  the 
haunts  of  childhood.  But  there  was  essential 
greatness  in  that  neglected  bardic  literature 
which  0' Grady  was  the  first  to  reveal  in  a  noble 
manner.  He  had  the  spirit  of  an  ancient  epic 
poet.  He  is  a  comrade  of  Homer,  his  birth 
delayed  in  time  perhaps  that  he  might  renew 
for  a  sophisticated  people  the  elemental  sim- 


INTRODUCTION  Xlll 

'plicity  and  hardihood  men  had  when  the  world 
was  young  and  manhood  was  'prized  more  than 
any  of  its  farts,  more  than  thought  or  beauty  or 
feeling.  He  has  created  for  us  or  rediscovered 
one  figure  tuhich  looms  in  the  imagination  as 
a  high  comrade  of  Hector,  Achilles,  Ulysses, 
Rama  or  Yudisthira,  as  great  in  spirit  as  any. 
Who  could  extol  enough  hisCuculain,  that  incar- 
nation of  Gaelic  chivalry,  the  fire  and  gentleness, 
the  beauty  and  heroic  ardour  or  the  imaginative 
splendour  of  the  episodes  in  his  retelling  of  the 
ancient  story.  There  are  writers  who  bewitch 
us  by  a  magical  use  of  words,  whose  lines 
glitter  like  jewels,  whose  effects  are  gained  by 
an  elaborate  art  and  who  deal  with  the  subtlest 
emotions.  Others  again  are  simple  as  an 
Egyptian  image  and  yet  are  more  impressive 
and  you  remember  them  less  for  the  sentence 
than  for  a  grandiose  effect.  They  are  not  so 
much  concerned  with  the  art  of  words  as  with 
the  creation  of  great  images  informed  with 
magnificence  of  spirit.  They  are  not  lesser 
artists  but  greater,  for  there  is  a  greater  art  in 
the  simplification   of  form  in   the   statue   of 


XIV  INTRODUCTION 

Memnon  than  there  is  in  the  intricate  detail  of 
a  bronze  by  Benvenuto  Cellini.  Standish 
O^Grady  had  in  his  best  moments  that  epic 
wholeness  and  simplicity,  and  the  figure  of 
Cuculain  amid  his  companions  of  the  Red 
Branch  which  he  discovered  and  refashioned 
for  us  is  I  think  the  greatest  spiritual  gift  any 
Irishman  for  centuries  has  given  to  Ireland. 

I  know  it  will  be  said  that  this  is  a  scientific 
age,  the  world  is  so  full  of  necessitous  life  that 
it  is  waste  of  time  for  young  Ireland  to  brood 
upon  tales  of  legendary  heroes,  who  fought  with 
enchanters,  who  harnessed  wild  fairy  horses  to 
magic  chariots  and  who  talked  with  the  ancient 
gods,  and  that  it  would  be  much  better  for  youth 
to  be  scientific  and  practical.  Do  not  believe 
it,  dear  Irish  boy,  dear  Irish  girl.  I  know  as 
well  as  any  the  economic  needs  of  our  people. 
They  must  not  be  overlooked,  but  keep  still  in 
your  hearts  some  desires  which  might  enter 
Paradise.  Keep  in  your  souls  some  images  of 
magnificence  so  that  hereafter  the  halls  of 
heaven  and  the  divine  folk  may  not  seem  alto- 
gether alien  to  the  spirit.     These  legends  have 


INTRODUCTION  XV 

'passed  the  test  of  generations  for  century  after 
century,  and  they  were  treasured  and  passed  on 
to  those  who  followed,  and  that  was  because 
there  was  something  in  them  akin  to  the  im- 
mortal spirit.  Humanity  cannot  carry  with  it 
through  time  the  memory  of  all  its  deeds  and 
imaginations,  and  it  burdens  itself  only  in  a 
new  era  with  what  was  highest  among  the 
imaginations  of  the  ancestors.  What  is  essen- 
tially noble  is  never  out  of  date.  The  figures 
carved  by  Phidias  for  the  Parthenon  still  shine 
by  the  side  of  the  greatest  modern  sculpture. 
There  has  been  no  evolution  of  the  human  form 
to  a  greater  beauty  than  the  ancient  Greeks  saio 
and  the  forms  they  carved  are  not  strange  to  us, 
and  if  this  is  true  of  the  outward  form  it  is  true 
of  the  indwelling  spirit.  What  is  essentially 
noble  is  contemporary  with  all  that  is  splendid 
to-day,  and,  until  the  mass  of  men  are  equal  in 
spirit,  the  great  figures  of  the  past  will  affect 
us  less  as  memories  than  as  prophecies  of  the 
Golden  Age  to  which  youth  is  ever  hurrying  in 
its  heart. 

O'Grady  in  his  stories  of  the  Red  Branch 


XVI  INTRODUCTION 

rescued  from  the  fast  what  was  contemforary 
to  the  best  in  us  to-day,  and  he  was  equal  in  his 
gifts  as  a  writer  to  the  greatest  of  his  bardie 
predecessors  in  Ireland.  His  sentences  are 
charged  with  a  heroic  energy,  and,  when  he  is 
telling  a  great  tale,  their  rise  and  fall  are  like 
the  flashing  and  falling  of  the  bright  sword  of 
some  great  champion  in  battle,  or  the  onset 
and  withdrawal  of  A  tlantic  surges.  He  can  at 
need  be  beautifully  tender  and  quiet.  Who  that 
has  read  his  tale  of  the  young  Finn  and  the  Seven 
Ancients  will  forget  the  weeping  of  Finn  over 
the  kindness  of  the  famine-stricken  old  men,  and 
their  wonder  at  his  weeping  and  the  self- 
forgetful  pathos  of  their  meditation  unconscious 
that  it  was  their  own  sacrifice  called  forth  the 
tears  of  Finn.  "  Youth,"  they  said,  "has  many 
sorrows  that  cold  age  cannot  comprehend." 

There  are  critics  repelled  by  the  abounding 
energy  in  O^Grady's  sentences.  It  is  easy  to 
point  to  faults  due  to  excess  and  abundance,  but 
how  rare  in  literature  is  that  heroic  energy  and 
power.  There  is  something  arcane  and  elemental 
in  itf  a  quality  that  the  most  careful  stylist 


INTRODUCTION  XVll 

cannot  attain,  however  he  uses  the  file,  however 
subtle  he  is.  0' Grady  has  noticed  this  power 
in  the  ancient  hards  and  we  find  it  in  his  own 
writing.  It  ran  all  through  the  Bardic  History, 
the  Critical  and  Philosophical  History,  and 
through  the  political  books,  *'  The  Tory 
Democracy"  and  "All  Ireland."  There  is  this 
imaginative  energy  in  the  tale  of  Cuculain,  in 
all  its  episodes,  the  slaying  of  the  hound,  the 
capture  of  the  Liath  Macha,  the  hunting  of  the 
enchanted  deer,  the  capture  of  the  wild  swans, 
the  fight  at  the  ford  and  the  awakening  of  the 
Red  Branch.  In  the  later  tale  of  Red  Hugh 
which  he  calls  "  The  Flight  of  the  Eagle"  there 
is  the  same  quality  of  power  joined  with  a 
shining  simplicity  in  the  narrative  which  rises 
into  a  poetic  ecstacy  in  that  wonderful  chapter 
where  Red  Hugh,  escaping  from  the  Pale,  rides 
through  the  Mountain  Gates  of  Ulster,  and  sees 
high  above  him  Slieve  Gullion,  a  mountain  of 
the  Gods,  the  birthplace  of  legend  ''more  mythic 
than  Avernus,"  and  0' Grady  evokes  for  us  and 
his  hero  the  legendary  past,  and  the  great  hill 
seems  to  be  like  Mount  Sinai,  thronged  with 


XVlll  INTRODUCTION 

immortals,  and  it  lives  and  speaks  to  the  fugitive 
hoy,  "  the  last  great  secular  champion  of  the 
Gael,"  and  inspires  him  for  the  fulfilment  of  his 
destiny.  We  might  say  of  Red  Hugh  and  indeed 
of  all  O'Grady's  heroes  that  they  are  the 
spiritual  progeny  of  Cuculain.  From  Red 
Hugh  down  to  the  hoys  who  have  such  enchant- 
ing adventures  in  "  Lost  on  Du  Corrig  "  and 
**  The  Chain  of  Gold  "  they  have  all  a  natural 
and  hardy  purity  of  mind,  a  heautiful  simplicity 
of  character,  and  one  can  imagine  them  all  in 
an  hour  of  need,  heing  faithful  to  any  trust  like 
the  darling  of  the  Red  Branch.  These  shining 
lads  never  grew  up  amid  hooks.  They  are  as 
much  children  of  nature  as  the  Lucy  of  Words- 
worth's poetry.  It  might  he  said  of  them  as  the 
poet  of  the  Kalevala  sang  of  himself, 

**  Winds  and  waters  my  instructors." 

These  were  0' Grady's  own  earliest  companions 
and  no  man  can  find  hetter  comrades  than  earth, 
water,  air  and  sun.  I  imagine  0' Grady's  own 
youth  was  not  so  very  different  from  the  youth 
of  Red  Hugh  he  fore  his  captivity;  that  he  lived 


INTRODUCTION  XIX 

on  the  wild  and  rocky  western  coast,  that  he 
rowed  in  coracles,  explored  the  caves,  sfoke 
much  with  hardy  natural  feofle,  fishermen  and 
workers  on  the  land,  primitive  folk,  simfle  in 
speech,  hut  with  that  fundamental  defth  men 
have  who  are  much  in  nature  in  companionship 
with  the  elements,  the  elder  brothers  of 
humanity :  it  must  have  been  out  of  such  a  hoy- 
hood  and  such  intimacies  with  natural  and 
unsophisticated  people  that  there  came  to  him 
the  understanding  of  the  heroes  of  the  Red 
Branch.  How  pallid,  heside  the  ruddy  chivalry 
who  pass  huge  and  fleet  and  bright  through 
O'Grady's  pages,  appear  Tennyson's  bloodless 
Knights  of  the  Round  Table,  fabricated  in  the 
study  to  be  read  in  the  drawing-room,  as  ancemic 
as  Burne  Jones'  lifeless  men  in  armour.  The 
heroes  of  ancient  Irish  legend  reincarnated  in 
the  mind  of  a  man  who  could  breathe  into  them 
the  fire  of  life,  caught  from  sun  and  wind,  their 
ancient  deities,  and  send  them  forth  to  the  world 
to  do  greater  deeds,  to  act  through  many  men 
and  speak  through  many  voices.  What  sorcery 
IV as  in  the  Irish  mind  that  it  has  taken  so  many 


XX  INTRODUCTION 

years  to  win  hut  a  little  recognition  for  this 
Sf Undid  spirit;  and  that  others  who  came  after 
him,  who  diluted  the  pure  fiery  wine  of  romance 
he  gave  us  with  literary  water,  should  be  as  well 
known  or  more  widely  read.  For  my  own  part 
I  can  only  point  back  to  him  and  say  whatever 
is  Irish  in  me  he  kindled  to  life,  and  I  am  humble 
when  I  read  his  epic  tale,  feeling  how  much 
greater  a  thing  it  is  for  the  soul  of  a  writer  to 
have  been  the  habitation  of  a  demigod  than  to 
have  had  the  subtlest  intellections. 

We  praise  the  man  who  rushes  into  a  burning 
mansion  and  brings  out  its  greatest  treasure. 
So  ought  we  to  praise  this  man  who  rescued 
from  the  perishing  Gaelic  tradition  its  darling 
hero  and  restored  him  to  us,  and  I  think  now 
that  Cuculain  will  not  perish,  and  he  will  be 
invisibly  present  at  many  a  council  of  youth,  and 
he  will  be  the  daring  which  lifts  the  will  beyond 
itself  and  fires  it  for  great  causes,  and  he  will 
also  be  the  courtesy  which  shall  overcome  the 
enemy  that  nothing  else  may  overcome. 

I  am  sure  that  Standish  0' Grady  would 
rather  I  should  speak  of  his  work  and  its  bear- 


INTRODUCTION  XXJ 

ing  on  the  spiritual  life  of  Ireland,  than  about 
himself,  and,  because  I  think  so,  in  this  reverie 
I  have  followed  no  set  flan  but  have  let  my 
thoughts  run  as  they  will.  But  I  would  not  have 
any  to  think  that  this  man  was  only  a  writer, 
or  that  he  could  have  had  the  heroes  of  the  past 
for  spiritual  companions,  without  himself  being 
inspired  to  fight  dragons  and  wizardy.  I  have 
sometimes  regretted  that  contemporary  politics 
drew  0' Grady  away  from  the  work  he  began  so 
greatly.  I  have  said  to  myself  he  might  have 
given  us  an  Oscar,  a  Diarmuid  or  a  Caoilte,  an 
equal  comrade  to  Cuculain,  but  he  could  not,  being 
lit  up  by  the  spirit  of  his  hero,  be  merely  the 
bard  and  not  the  fighter,  and  no  man  in  Ireland 
intervened  in  the  affairs  of  his  country  with  a 
superior  nobility  of  aim.  He  was  the  last 
champion  of  the  Irish  aristocracy  and  still  more 
the  voice  of  conscience  for  them,  and  he  spoke  to 
them  of  their  duty  to  the  nation  as  one  might 
imagine  some  fearless  prophet  speaking  to  a 
council  of  degenerate  princes.  When  the 
aristocracy  failed  Ireland  he  bade  them  fare- 
well, and  wrote  the  epitaph  of  their  class  in 


XXll  INTRODUCTION 

words  whose  scorn  we  almost  forget  because  of 
their  sounding  melody  and  beauty.  He  turned 
his  mind  to  the  'problems  of  democracy  and  more 
especially  of  those  workers  who  are  trapped  in 
the  city,  and  he  pointed  out  for  them  the  way  of 
escape  and  how  they  might  renew  life  in  the 
green  fields  close  to  Earth,  their  ancient  mother 
and  nurse.  He  used  too  exalted  a  language  for 
those  to  whom  he  spoke  to  understand,  and  it 
might  seem  that  all  these  vehement  appeals  had 
failed  but  that  we  know  that  what  is  fine  never 
really  fails.  When  a  man  is  in  advance  of  his 
age,  a  generation  unborn  when  he  speaks,  is 
born  in  due  time  and  finds  in  him  its  inspira- 
tion. 0' Grady  may  have  failed  in  his  appeal  to 
the  aristocracy  of  his  own  time  but  he  may  yet 
create  an  aristocracy  of  character  and  intellect 
in  Ireland.  The  political  and  social  writings 
will  remain  to  uplift  and  inspire  and  to  remind 
us  that  the  man  who  wrote  the  stories  of  heroes 
had  a  bravery  of  his  own  and  a  wisdom  of  his 
own.  I  owe  so  much  to  Standish  0' Grady  that 
I  would  like  to  leave  it  on  record  that  it  was  he 
who   made    me  conscious   and    proud    of    my 


INTRODUCTION  XXlll 

country,  and  recalled  my  mind,  that  might  have 
wandered  otherwise  over  too  wide  and  vague  a 
field  of  thought,  to  think  of  the  earth  under  my 
feet  and  the  children  of  our  common  mother. 
There  hangs  in  the  Municipal  Gallery  of  Dublin 
the  portrait  of  a  man  with  brooding  eyes,  and 
scrawled  on  the  canvas  is  the  subject  of  his 
bitter  meditation,  "  The  Lost  Land.''  I  hope 
that  O'Grady  will  find  before  he  goes  back  to 
Tir-na-noge  that  Ireland  has  found  again 
through  him  what  seemed  lost  for  ever,  the  law 
of  its  own  being,  and  its  memories  which  go 
back  to  the  beginning  of  the  world. 


THE   COMING  OF 
CUCULAIN 


CHAPTER  I. 

THE  RED  BRANCH 

"  There  were  giants  in  the  earth  in  those  days,  the  same  were 
mighty  men  which  were  of  yore  men  of  renown." 

The  Red  Branch  feasted  one  night  in  their  great 
hall  at  Emain  Macha.  So  vast  was  the  hall  that 
a  man,  such  as  men  are  now,  standing  in  the 
centre  and  shouting  his  loudest,  would  not  be 
heard  at  the  circumference,  yet  the  low  laughter 
of  the  King  sitting  at  one  end  was  clearly  audible 
to  those  who  sat  around  the  Champion  at  the 
other.  The  sons  of  Dithorba  made  it,  giants  of 
the  elder  time,  labouring  there  under  the  brazen 
shoutings  of  Macha  and  the  roar  of  her  sounding 
thongs.  Its  length  was  a  mile  and  nine  furlongs 
and  a  cubit.  With  her  brooch  pin  she  ploughed 
its  outline  upon  the  plain,  and  its  breadth  was 
not  much  less.  Trees  such  as  the  earth  nour- 
ished then  upheld  the  massy  roof  beneath  which 
feasted   that   heroic   brood,    the   great-hearted 


2  THE  COMING   OF   CCCDLAIN 

children  of  Rury,  huge  offspring  of  the  gods 
and  giants  of  the  dawn  of  time.  For  mighty 
exceedingly  were  these  men.  At  the  noise  of 
them  running  to  battle  all  Ireland  shook,  and 
the  illimitable  Lir^  trembled  in  his  watery  halls  ; 
the  roar  of  their  brazen  chariots  reverberated 
from  the  solid  canopy  of  heaven,  and  their  war- 
steeds  drank  rivers  dry. 

A  vast  murmur  rose  from  the  assembly,  for 
like  distant  thunder  or  the  far-off  murmuring 
of  agitated  waters  was  the  continuous  hum  of 
their  blended  conversation  and  laughter,  while, 
ever  and  anon,  cleaving  the  many-tongued 
confusion,  uprose  friendly  voices,  clearer  and 
stronger  than  battle-trumpets,  when  one  hero 
challenged  another  to  drink,  wishing  him  victory 
and  success,  and  his  words  rang  round  the 
hollow  dome.  Innumerable  candles,  tall  as 
spears,  illuminated  the  scene.  The  eyes  of  the 
heroes  sparkled,  and  their  faces,  white  and 
ruddy,  beamed  with  festal  mirth  and  mutual 
affection.  Their  yellow  hair  shone.  Their  ban- 
queting attire,  white  and  scarlet,  glowed  against 
the   outer  gloom.     Their  round  brooches  and 

^  Lir  was  the  sea-god,  the  Oceanus  of  the  Celt  ;  no  doubt  the  same 
as  the  British  Lear,  the  wild,  white-headed  old  king,  who  had  such 
singular  daughters  ;  two,  monsters  of  cruelty,  and  one,  exquisitely 
sweet,  kind,  and  serene,  viz. :  Storm,  Hurricane,  and  Calm. 


THE  RED  BRANCH  3 

mantle-pins  of  gold,  or  silver,  or  golden  bronze, 
their  drinking  vessels  and  instruments  of  fes- 
tivity, flashed  and  glittered  in  the  light.  They 
rejoiced  in  their  glory  and  their  might,  and  in 
the  inviolable  amity  in  which  they  were  knit 
together,  a  host  of  comrades,  a  knot  of  heroic 
valour  and  affection  which  no  strength  or  cun- 
ning, and  no  power,  seen  or  unseen,  could  ever 
relax  or  untie. 

At  one  extremity  of  the  vast  hall,  upon  a 
raised  seat,  sat  their  young  king,  Concobar 
Mac  Nessa,  slender,  handsome,  and  upright. 
A  canopy  of  bronze,  round  as  the  bent  sling  of 
the  Sun-god,  the  long-handed,  far-shooting  son 
of  Ethlend/  encircled  his  head.  At  his  right 
hand  lay  a  staff  of  silver.  Far  away  at  the  other 
end  of  the  hall,  on  a  raised  seat,  sat  the  Champion 
Fergus  Mac  Roy,  like  a  colossus.  The  stars  and 
clouds  of  night  were  round  his  head  and  shoulders 
seen  through  the  wide  and  high  entrance  of  the 
dun,  whose  doors  no  man  had  ever  seen  closed 
and  barred.  Aloft,  suspended  from  the  dim 
rafters,  hung  the  naked  forms  of  great  men 
clear  against  the  dark  dome,  having  the  cords 

'  This  was  the  god  I/U  I^am-fada,  i.e.,  Lu,  the  I<ong-Handed. 
The  rainbow  was  his  sUng.  Remember  that  the  rod  shng,  familiar 
enough  now  to  Irish  boys,  was  the  weapon  of  the  ancient  Irish,  and 
not  the  shng  which  is  made  of  two  cords. 


4  THE  COMING   OF   CUCULAIN 

of  their  slaughter  around  their  necks  and  their 
white  hmbs  splashed  with  blood.  Kings  were 
they  who  had  murmured  against  the  sovereignty 
of  the  Red  Branch.  Through  the  wide  doorway 
out  of  the  night  flew  a  huge  bird,  black  and 
grey,  unseen,  and  soaring  upwards  sat  upon 
the  rafters,  its  eyes  like  burning  fire.  It  was 
the  Mor-Reega,^  or  Great  Queen,  the  far-striding 
terrible  daughter  of  larnmas  (Iron-Death).  Her 
voice  was  like  the  shouting  of  ten  thousand  men. 
Dear  to  her  were  these  heroes.  More  she  rejoiced 
in  them  feasting  than  in  the  battle-prowess  of  the 
rest. 

When  supper  was  ended  their  bard,  in  his 
singing  robes  and  girt  around  the  temples  with  a 
golden  fillet,  stood  up  and  sang.  He  sang  how 
once  a  king  of  the  Ultonians,  having  plunged 
into  the  sea-depths,  there  slew  a  monster  which 
had  wrought  much  havoc  amongst  fishers  and 
seafaring  men.  The  heroes  attended  to  his 
song,  leaning  forward  with  bright  eyes.  They 
applauded  the  song  and  the  singer,  and  praised 
the  valour  of  the  heroic  man^  who  had  done 


^  There  were  three  war  goddesses  : — (i)  Badb  (pronounced  Byve)  ; 
(2)  Macha,  ahready  referred  to  ;  (3)  The  Mor-Rigu  or  Mor-Reega, 
who  was  the  greatest  of  the  three. 

*  This  was  Fergus  Mac  I^eda,  Fergus,  son  of  Leda,  one  of  the 
more  ancient  kings  of  Ulster.  His  contest  with  the  sea-monster  is 
the  theme  of  a  heroic  tale. 


THE   RED   BRANCH  5 

that  deed.  Then  the  champion  struck  the  table 
with  his  clenched  hand,  and  addressed  the 
assembly.  Wrath  and  sorrow  were  in  his  voice. 
It  resembled  the  brool  of  lions  heard  afar  by 
seafaring  men  upon  some  savage  shore  on  a 
still  night. 

*'  Famous  deeds,"  lie  said,  "  are  not  wrought 
now  amongst  the  Red  Branch.  I  think  we  are 
all  become  women.  I  grow  weary  of  these 
huntings  in  the  morning  and  mimic  exercises 
of  war,  and  this  training  of  steeds  and  career- 
ing of  brazen  chariots  stained  never  with  aught 
but  dust  and  mire,  and  these  unearned  feastings 
at  night  and  vain  applause  of  the  brave  deeds 
of  our  forefathers.  Come  now,  let  us  make 
an  end  of  this.  Let  us  conquer  Banba^  wholly 
in  all  her  green  borders,  and  let  the  realms  of 
Lir,  which  sustain  no  foot  of  man,  be  the  limit 
of  our  sovereignty.  Let  us  gather  the  tributes 
of  all  Ireland,  after  many  battles  and  much 
warlike  toil.  Then  more  sweetly  shall  we  drink 
while  the  bards  chaunt  our  own  prowess.  Once 
I  knew  a  coward  who  boasted  endlessly  about 
his  forefathers,  and  at  last  my  anger  rose,  and 
with  a  flat  hand  I  slew  him  in  the  middle  of  his 
speech,  and  paid  no  eric,  for  he  was  nothing.     We 

*  One  of  Ireland's  many  names. 


6  THE  COMING   OF   CUCFLAIN 

have  the  blood  of  heroes  in  our  veins,  and  we  sit 
here  nightly  boasting  about  them  ;  about  Rury, 
whose  name  we  bear,  being  all  his  children  ; 
and  Macha  the  warrioress,  who  brought  hither 
bound  the  sons  of  Dithorba  and  made  them  rear 
this  mighty  dun  ;  and  Kimbaoth  son  of  Fion- 
tann ;  and  my  namesake  Fergus,^  whose  crooked 
mouth  was  no  dishonour,  and  the  rest  of 
our  hero  sires ;  and  we  consume  the  rents  and 
tributes  of  Ulster  which  they  by  their  prowess 
conquered  to  us,  and  which  flow  hither  in  abun- 
dance from  every  corner  of  the  province. 
Valiant  men,  too,  will  one  day  come  hither  and 
slay  us  as  I  slew  that  boaster,  and  here  in  Emain 
Macha  their  bards  will  praise  them.  Then  in  the 
halls  of  the  dead  shall  we  say  to  our  sires,  '  All 
that  you  got  for  us  by  your  blood  and  your 
sweat  that  have  we  lost,  and  the  glory  of  the 
Red  Branch  is  at  an  end.'  " 

That  speech  was  pleasing  to  the  Red  Branch, 
and  they  cried  out  that  Fergus  Mac  Roy  had 
spoken  well.  Then  all  at  once,  on  a  sudden  im- 
pulse, they  sang  the  battle-song  of  the  Ultonians, 
and  shouted  for  the  war  so  that  the  building 


^  This  was  the  king  already  referred  to  who  slew  the  sea-monster. 
The  monster  had  left  upon  him  that  mark  and  memorial  of  the 
struggle. 


THE   RED   BRANCH  7 

quaked  and  rocked,  and  in  the  hall  of  the  wea- 
pons there  was  a  clangour  of  falling  shields,  and 
men  died  that  night  for  extreme  dread,  so 
mightily  shouted  the  Ultonians  around  their 
king  and  around  Fergus.  When  the  echoes 
and  reverberations  of  that  shout  ceased  to  sound 
in  the  vaulted  roof  and  in  the  far  recesses  and 
galleries,  then  there  arose  somewhere  upon  the 
night  a  clear  chorus  of  treble  voices,  singing, 
too,  the  war-chant  of  the  Ultonians,  as  when 
rising  out  of  the  clangour  of  brazen  instruments 
of  music  there  shrills  forth  the  clear  sound  of 
fifes.  For  the  immature  scions  of  the  Red 
Branch,  boys  and  tender  youths,  awakened  out 
of  slumber,  heard  them,  and  from  remote 
dormitories  responded  to  their  sires,  and  they 
cried  aloud  together  and  shouted.  The  trees 
of  Ulster  shed  their  early  leaves  and  buds  at  that 
shout,  and  birds  fell  dead  from  the  branches. 

Concobar  struck  the  brazen  canopy  with  his 
silver  rod.  The  smitten  brass  rang  like  a  bell, 
and  the  Ultonians  in  silence  hearkened  for  the 
words  of  their  clear-voiced  king. 

"  No  ruler  of  men,"  he  said,  "  however  master- 
ful and  imperious,  could  withstand  this  torrent 
of  martial  ardour  which  rolls  to-night  through 
the  souls  of  the  children  of  Rury,  still  less  I, 


8  THE  COMING   OF   CUCULAIN 

newly  come  to  this  high  throne,  having  been  but 
as  it  were  yesterday  your  comrade  and  equal, 
till  Fergus,  to  my  grief,  resigned  the  sovereignty, 
and  caused  me,  a  boy,  to  be  made  king  of  UUa 
and  captain  of  the  Red  Branch.  But  now  I  say, 
ere  we  consider  what  province  or  territory  shall 
first  see  the  embattled  Red  Branch  cross  her 
borders,  let  us  enquire  of  Cathvah  the  Ard-Druid, 
whether  the  omens  be  propitious,  and  whether 
through  his  art  he  is  able  to  reveal  to  us  some 
rite  to  be  performed  or  prohibition  to  be  ob- 
served." 

That  proposal  was  not  pleasing  to  Fergus, 
but  it  pleased  the  Red  Branch,  and  they  praised 
the  wisdom  of  their  king. 

Then  Cathvah  the  Ard-Druid^   spake. 

"  It  hath  been  foretold,"  he  said,  "  long 
since,  that  the  Ultonians  shall  win  glory  such  as 
never  was  and  never  will  be,  and  that  their 
fame  shall  endure  till  the  world's  end.  But, 
first,  there  are  prophecies  to  be  accomplished 
and  predictions  to  be  fulfilled.  For  ere  these 
things  may  be  there  shall  come  a  child  to  Emain 
Macha,  attended  by  clear  portents  from  the 
gods  ;    through  him  shall  arise  our  deathless 

^  High    Druid,    or   Chief   Druid.     Similarly   we  have   Ard-Ri  or 
High  King. 


THE  RED  BRANCH   ,  9 

fame.  Also  it  hath  been  foretold  that  there 
shall  be  great  divisions  and  fratricidal  strife 
amongst  the  children  of  Rury,  a  storm  of  war 
which  shall  strip  the  Red  Branch  nigh  bare." 

Fergus  was  wroth  at  this,  and  spoke  words  of 
scorn  concerning  the  diviner,  and  concerning  all 
omens,  prohibitions,  and  prophecies.  Concobar, 
too,  and  all  the  Red  Branch,  rebuked  the  pro- 
phet. Yet  he  stood  against  them  like  a  rock 
warred  on  by  winds  which  stand  immovable, 
let  them  rage  as  they  will,  and  refused  to  take 
back  his  words.     Then  said  Concobar  : 

"  Many  are  the  prophecies  which  came  wan- 
dering down  upon  the  mouths  of  men,  but  they 
are  not  all  to  be  trusted  alike.  Of  those  which 
have  passed  thy  lips,  O  Cathvah,  we  utterly 
reject  the  last,  and  think  the  less  of  thee  for 
having  reported  it.  But  the  former  which  con- 
cerns the  child  of  promise  hath  been  ever  held 
a  sure  prophecy,  and  as  such  passed  down 
through  all  the  diviners  from  the  time  of  Amargin, 
the  son  of  Milesius,  who  first  prophesied  for  the 
Gael.  And  now  being  arch-king  of  the  Ulto- 
nians,  I  command  thee  to  divine  for  us  when  the 
coming  of  the  child  shall  be." 

Then  Cathvah,  the  Ard-Druid,  put  on  his 
divining  apparel  and  took  his  divining  instru- 


10  THE  COMING   OF  CUCULAIN 

ments  in  his  hands,  and  made  his  symbols  of 
power  upon  the  air.  And  at  first  he  was  silent, 
and,  being  in  a  trance,  stared  out  before  him 
with  wide  eyes  full  of  wonder  and  amazement, 
directing  his  gaze  to  the  east.  In  the  end  he 
cried  out  with  a  loud  voice,  and  prophesying, 
sang  this  lay: 

"  Yea,  he  is  coming.     He  draweth  nigh. 

Verily  it  is  he  whom  I  behold — 

The  predicted  one — the  child  of  many  prophecies — 

Chief  flower  of  the  Branch  that  is  over  all — 

The  mainstay  of  Bmain  Macha — the  battle-prop  of  the  Ultonians — 

The  torch  of  the  valour  and  chivalry  of  the  North — 

The  star  that  is  to  shine  for  ever  upon  the  forehead  of  the  Gael. 

It  is  he  who  slumbers  upon  Slieve  Fuad — 

The  child  who  is  Uke  a  star — 

Like  a  star  upon  Sheve  Fuad. 

There  is  a  hght  around  him  never  kindled  at  the  hearth  of  Lu, 

The  Grey  of  Macha  keep*  watch  and  ward  for  him,  ^ 

And  the  whole  mountain  is  filled  with  the  Tuatha  de  Danan."" 

Then  his  vision  passed  from  the  Druid,  he 
raised  up  his  long  white  hands  and  gave  thanks 
to  the  high  gods  of  Erin  that  he  had  lived  to  see 
this  day. 

When  Cathvah  had  made  an  end  of  speaking 
there  was  a  great  silence  in  the  hall. 


^  Macha's  celebrated  grey  war-steed.  The  meaning  of  the  allusioa 
will  be  understood  presently. 

2  These  were  the  gods  of  the  pagan  Irish.  Tuatha=nations,  De= 
gods,  Danan=of  Dana.  So  it  means  the  god  nations  sprung  from 
Dana  also  called  Ana.  She  is  referred  to  in  an  ancient  Irish  Dic- 
tionary as  Mater  deorum  Hibernensium, 


CHAPTER    II 

THE  BOYS   OF  THE   ULTONIANS 

"  And  dear  the  school-boy  spot 
We  ne'er  forget  though  there  we  are  forgot." 

Byron. 
"  There  were  his  young  barbarians  all  at  play." 

Byron. 

In  the  morning  Fergus  Mac  Roy  said  to  the 
young  king,  "  What  shall  we  do  this  day,  O 
Concobar  ?  Shall  we  lead  forth  our  sweet- 
voiced  hounds  into  the  woods  and  rouse  the 
wild  boar  from  his  lair,  and  chase  the  swift 
deer,  or  shall  we  drive  afar  in  our  chariots  and 
visit  one  of  our  subject  kings  Jand  take  his 
tribute  as  hospitality,  which,  according  to  thee, 
wise  youth,  is  the  best,  for  it  is  agreeable  to  our- 
selves and  not  displeasing  to  the  man  that  is 
tributary." 

"  Nay,"  said  Concobar,  "  let  us  wait  and 
watch  this  day.  Hast  thou  forgotten  the  words 
of  Cathvah  ?  " 

"  Truly,  in  a  manner  I  had,"  said  Fergus, 
"  for  I  never  much  regarded  the  race  of  seers, 
or  deemed  the  birds  more  than  pleasant  song- 

II 


12  THE    COMING    OF   CUCULAIN 

sters,  and  the  stars  as  a  fair  spectacle,  or  druidic 
instruments  aught  but  toys." 

"  Let  us  play  at  chess  on  the  lawn  of  the 
dun,"  said  the  king,  "  while  our  boys  exercise 
themselves  at  hurling  on  the  green." 

"  It  is  agreeable  to  me,"  said  Fergus,  "  though 
well  thou  knowest,  dear  foster-son,  that  I  am 
not  thy  match  at  the  game." 

What  the  champion  said  was  true,  for  in  royal 
wisdom  the  king  far  excelled  his  foster-father, 
and  that  was  the  reason  why  Fergus  had  abdi- 
cated the  supreme  captainship  of  the  Red 
Branch  in  favour  of  Concobar,  for  though  his 
heart  was  great  his  understanding  was  not  fine 
and  acute  like  the  understanding  of  his  foster- 
son. 

The  table  was  set  for  them  upon  the  lawn 
before  the  great  painted  and  glowing  palace, 
and  three-footed  stools  were  put  on  either  side 
of  that  table,  and  bright  cloths  flung  over  them. 
A  knight  to  whom  that  was  a  duty  brought 
forth  and  unfolded  a  chess-board  of  ivory  on 
which  silver  squares  alternated  with  gold,  cun- 
ningly wrought  by  some  ancient  cerd,^  a  chief 
jewel  of  the  realm  ;  another  bore  in  his  hand 
the  man-bag,  also  a  wonder,  gUstening,  made 

^  Craftsman. 


THE   BOYS    OF   THE   ULTONIANS  I3 

of  netted  wires  of  findruiney/  and  took  there- 
from the  men  and  disposed  them  in  their  respec- 
tive places  on  the  board,  each  in  the  centre  of  his 
own  square.  The  gold  men  were  on  the  squares 
of  silver,  and  the  silver  on  the  squares  of  gold. 
The  table  was  set  under  the  shadowing  branches 
of  a  great  tree,  for  it  was  early  summer  and  the 
sun-  shone  in  his  strength.  So  Concobar  and 
Fergus,  lightly  laughing,  affectionate  and  mirth- 
ful, the  challenger  and  the  challenged,  came 
forth  through  the  wide  doorway  of  the  dun. 
Armed  youths  went  with  them.  The  right  arm 
of  Fergus  was  cast  lightly  over  the  shoulder  of 
Concobar,  and  his  ear  was  inclined  to  him  as 
the  young  king  talked,  for  their  mutual  affection 
was  very  great  and  like  that  of  a  great  boy  and 
a  small  boy  when  such,  as  often  happens, 
become  attached  to  one  another.  So  Concobar 
and  Fergus  sat  down  to  play,  though  right  seldom 
did  the  Champion  win  any  game  from  the  King. 
Concobar  beckoned  to  him  one  of  the  young 
knights.     It  was  Conall  Carna,^  son  of  Amargin, 


^  A  bright  yellow  bronze,  the  secret  of  making  which  is  now  lost. 
The  metal  may  be  seen  in  our  museums.  In  beauty  it  is  superior 
to  gold. 

^  Conall  the  Victorious.  He  came  second  to  Cuculain  amongst 
the  Red  Branch  Knights.  He  is  the  theme  of  many  heroic  stories. 
Once  in  a  duel  he  broke  the  right  arm  of  his  opponent.  He  bade 
his  seconds  tie  up  his  own  corresponding  arm. 


14  THE  COMING   OF  CUCULAIN 

youngest  of  the  knights  of  Concobar.  "  Son  of 
Amargin,"  said  the  king,  "  do  thou  watch  over 
the  boys  this  day  in  their  pastimes.  See  that 
nothing  is  done  unseemly  or  unjust.  Observe 
narrowly  the  behaviour  and  disposition  of  the 
lads,  and  report  all  things  clearly  to  me  on  the 
morrow. 

So  saying,  he  moved  one  of  the  pieces  on  the 
board,  and  Conall  Carna  strode  away  south- 
wards to  where  the  boys  were  already  dividing 
themselves  into  two  parties  for  a  match  at 
hurling. 

That  son  of  Amargin  was  the  handsomest 
youth  of  all  the  province.  White  and  ruddy 
was  his  beardless  countenance.  Bright  as  gold 
which  boils  over  the  edge  of  the  refiner's  crucible 
was  his  hair,  which  fell  curling  upon  his  broad 
shoulders  and  over  the  circumference  of  his 
shield,  outshining  its  splendour.  By  his  side 
hung  a  short  sword  with  a  handle  of  walrus- 
tooth  ;  in  his  left  hand  he  bore  two  spears  tipped 
with  ghttering  bronze.  Fergus  and  Concobar 
watched  him  as  he  strode  over  the  grass  ;  Con- 
cobar noted  his  beauty  and  grace,  but  Fergus 
noted  his  great  strength.  Soon  the  boys,  being 
divided  into  two  equal  bands,  began  their 
pastime  and  contended,  eagerly  urging  the  ball 


THE  BOYS   OF  THE  ULTONIANS  I5 

to  and  fro.  The  noise  of  the  stricken  ball  and 
the  clash  of  the  hurles  shod  with  bronze,  the 
cries  of  the  captains,  and  the  shouting  of  the 
boys,  filled  all  the  air. 

That  good  knight  stood  midway  between  the 
goals,  eastward  from  the  players.  Ever  and 
anon  with  a  loud  clear  voice  he  reproved  the 
youths,  and  they  hearkening  took  his  rebukes 
in  silence  and  obeyed  his  words.  Cathvah  came 
forth  that  day  upon  the  lawn,  and  thus  spoke 
one  of  the  boys  to  another  in  some  pause  of  the 
game,  "  Yonder,  see  !  the  Ard-Druid  of  the 
Province.  Wherefore  comes  he  forth  from  his 
druidic  chambers  to-day  at  this  hour,  such  not 
being  his  wont  ?  "  And  the  other  answered 
lightly,  laughing,  and  with  boyish  heedlessness, 
"  I  know  not  wherefore  ;  but  well  he  knows 
himself."  And  therewith  ran  to  meet  the  ball 
which  passed  that  way.  There  was  yet  a  third 
who  watched  the  boys.  He  stood  afar  off  on  the 
edge  of  the  plain.  He  had  a  little  shield  strapped 
on  his  back,  two  javelins  in  one  hand,  and  a 
hurle  in  the  other.  He  was  very  young  and 
fair.  He  stood  looking  fixedly  at  the  hurlers, 
and  as  he  looked  he  wept.  It  was  the  child  who 
had  been  promised  to  the  Ultonians. 


CHAPTER    III 

dethcaen's   nursling 

*'  Very  small  and  beautiful  like  a  star," — HoMBR. 

"  I  love  all  that  thou  lovest. 
Spirit  of  delight ; 

The  fresh  earth  in  new  leaves  drest. 
And  the  blessed  night ; 
Starry  evening  and  the  mom, 
When  the  golden  mists  are  born." 

SHEi,r,EV. 

SuALTAM  of  Dun  Dalgan  on  the  Eastern  Sea, 
took  to  wife  Dectera,  daughter  of  Factna  the 
Righteous.  She  was  sister  of  Concobar  Mac 
Nessa.  Sualtam  was  the  King  of  Cooalney/  a 
land  of  woods  and  mountains,  an  unproductive 
headland  reaching  out  into  the  Ictian  Sea. 

Dectera  bare  a  son  to  Sualtam,  and  they  called 
him  Setanta.  That  was  his  first  name.  His 
nurse  was  Dethcaen,  the  druidess,  daughter  of 
Cathvah  the  druid,  the  mighty  wizard  and 
prophet  of  the  Crave  Rue.  His  breast-plate^ 
of  power,   woven  of  druidic  verse,   was  upon 

I  Now  the  barony  of  Cooley,  a  mountainous  promontory  which 
the  County  of  Louth  projects  into  the  Irish  Sea. 

*  A  poetic  spell  or  incantation.  So  even  the  Christian  hymn  of 
St.  Patrick  was  called  the  lorica  or  breastplate  of  Patrick. 


dethcaen's  nursling  17 

Ulla'^  in  his  time,  upon  all  the  children  of  Rury 
in  their  going  out  and  their  coming  in,  in  war 
and  in  peace.  Dethcaen^  sang  her  own  songs 
of  protection  for  the  child.  His  mother  gave 
the  child  suck,  but  the  rosy-cheeked,  beautiful, 
sweetly-speaking  daughter  of  Cathvah  nursed 
him.  On  her  breast  and  knee  she  bare  him  with 
great  love.  Light  of  foot  and  slender  was 
Bethcaen  ;  through  the  wide  dun  of  Sualtam 
she  went  with  her  nursling,  singing  songs.  She 
it  was  that  discovered  his  first  ges,3  namely,  that 
no  one  should  awake  him  while  he  slept.  He 
had  others,  sacred  prohibitions  which  it  was 
unlawful  to  transgress,  but  this  was  discovered 
by  Dethcaen.  She  discovered  it  while  he  was 
yet  a  babe.  With  her  own  hands  Dethcaen 
washed  his  garments  and  bathed  his  tiny  limbs  ; 
lightly  and  cheerfully  she  sprang  from  her  couch 
at  night  when  she  heard  his  voice,  and  raised  him 
from  the  cradle  and  wrapped  him  tenderly,  and 
put  him  into  the  hands  of  his  mother.  She 
watched  him  when  he  slumbered  ;  there  was 
great  stillness  in  the  palace  of  Sualtam  when  the 
child  slept.     She  repeated  for  him  many  tales 


^  Ulla  is  the  Gaelic  root  of  Ulster. 

*  Dethcaen  is  compounded  of  two  words  which  mean  respectively, 
colour,  and  slender. 

i  Citii  was  tilt  irisk  ecj^iiivoieuL  of  the  tubu^ 


l8  THE   COMING   OP  CUCULAIN 

and  taught  him  nothing  base.  When  he  was 
three  years  old,  men  came  with  hounds  to 
hunt  the  stream  which  ran  past  D{in  Dalgan.^ 
Early  in  the  morning  Setanta  heard  the  baying 
of  the  hounds  and  the  shouting  of  the  men. 
They  were  hunting  a  great  water-dog  which  had 
his  abode  in  this  stream.  Setanta  leaped  from 
his  couch  and  ran  to  the  river.  Well  he  knew 
that  stream  and  all  its  pools  and  shallows  ;  he 
knew  where  the  water-dog  had  his  den.  Thither 
by  circuit  he  ran  and  stood  before  the  mouth 
of  the  same,  having  a  stone  in  either  hand.  The 
hunted  water-dog  drew  nigh.  Maddened  with 
fear  and  rage  he  gnashed  his  teeth  and  growled, 
and  then  charged  at  the  child.  There,  O 
Setanta,  with  the  stroke  of  one  stone  thou  didst 
slay  the  water-dog  !  The  dog  was  carried  in 
procession  with  songs  to  the  dun  of  Sualtam, 
who  that  night  gave  a  great  feast  and  called  many 
to  rejoice  with  him,  because  his  only  son  had 
done  bravely.  A  prophet  who  was  there  said, 
**  Thou  shalt  do  many  feats  in  thy  time,  O 
Setanta,  and  the  last  will  resemble  the  first." 

Setanta  played  along  the  sand  and  by  the 
frothing  waves  of  the  sea-shore  under  the  dun. 
He  had  a  ball  and  an  ashen  hurle  shod  with 

^  Now  Dundalk,  capital  of  the  County  of  Louth. 


DETHCAEN  S   NURSLING  I9 

bronze  ;  joyfully  he  used  to  drive  his  ball  along 
the  hard  sand,  shouting  among  his  small  play- 
mates. The  captain  of  the  guard  gave  him  a 
sheaf  of  toy  javelins  and  taught  him  how  to 
cast,  and  made  for  him  a  sword  of  lath  and  a 
painted  shield.  They  made  for  him  a  high 
chair.  In  the  great  hall  of  the  dun,  when  supper 
was  served,  he  used  to  sit  beside  the  champion 
of  that  small  realm,  at  the  south  end  of  the  table 
over  against  the  king.  Ever  as  evening  drew 
on  and  the  candles  were  lit,  and  the  instruments 
of  festivity  and  the  armour  and  trophies  on  the 
walls  and  pillars  shone  in  the  cheerful  light, 
and  the  people  of  Sualtam  sat  down  rejoicing, 
there  too  duly  appeared  Setanta  over  against 
his  father  by  the  side  of  the  champion,  very 
fair  and  pure,  yellow-haired,  in  his  scarlet 
bratta  fastened  with  a  little  brooch  of  silver, 
serene  and  grave  beyond  his  years,  shining 
there  like  a  very  bright  star  on  the  edge  of  a 
thunder-cloud,  so  that  men  often  smiled  to  see 
them  together. 

While  Sualtam  and  his  people  feasted,  the 
harper  harped  and  trained  singers  sang.  Every 
day  the  floor  was  strewn  with  fresh  rushes  or 
dried  moss  or  leaves.  Every  night  at  a  certain 
hour    the    bed-makers   went   round    spreading 


20  THE   COMING   OF  CUCDLAIN 

couches  for  the  people  of  Sualtam.  Sometimes 
the  king  slept  with  his  people  in  the  great  hall. 
Then  one  warrior  sat  awake  through  the  night  at 
his  pillow  having  his  sword  drawn,  and  another 
warrior  sat  at  his  feet  having  his  sword  drawn. 
The  fire-place  was  in  the  midst  of  the  hall.  In 
winter  a  slave  appointed  for  that  purpose  from 
time  to  time  during  the  night  laid  on  fresh  logs. 
Rude  plenty  never  failed  in  the  dun  of  Sualtam. 
In  such  wise  were  royal  households  ordered  in  the 
age  of  the  heroes.  For  the  palace,  it  was  of 
timber  staunched  with  clay  and  was  roofed  with 
rushes.  Without  it  was  white  with  lime,  con- 
spicuous afar  to  mariners  sailing  in  the  Muir- 
nict.^  There  was  a  rampart  round  the  dun 
and  a  moat  spanned  by  a  drawbridge.  Before 
it  there  was  a  spacious  lawn.  Down  that  lawn 
there  ever  ran  a  stream  of  sparkling  water. 
Setanta  sailed  his  boats  in  the  stream  and  taught 
it  here  to  be  silent,  and  there  to  hum  in  rapids, 
or  to  apparel  itself  in  silver  and  sing  liquid 
notes,  or  to  blow  its  little  trumpet  from  small 
cataracts. 


I  The  Irish  Sea  or  St.   George's  Channel.     Muirnict  means   the 
Ictian  Sea. 


CHAPTER    IV 

SETANTA   RUNS  AWAY 
"  For  a  boy's  way  is  the  wind's  way." — I/ONGFEl,l<OW. 

And  now  the  daily  life  of  that  remote  dun  no 
longer  pleased  the  boy,  for  the  war-spirit  within 
drave  him  on.  Moreover  he  longed  for  comrades 
and  playfellows,  for  his  fearful  mother  permitted 
him  no  longer  to  associate  with  children  of  that 
rude  realm  whose  conversation  and  behaviour 
she  misliked  for  her  child.  She  loved  him 
greatly  and  perceived  not  how  he  changed,  or 
how  the  new  years  in  their  coming  and  their 
going  both  gave  and  took  away  continually. 

In  summer  the  boy  sat  often  with  the  chief 
bard  under  the  thatched  eaves  of  the  dun,  while 
the  crying  swallows  above  came  and  went, 
asking  many  questions  concerning  his  forefathers 
back  the  ascending  line  up  to  Rury,  and  again 
downwards  through  the  ramifications  of  that 
mighty  stem,  and  concerning  famous  marches 
and  forays,  and  battles  and  single  combats, 
and  who  was  worthy  and  lived  and  died  well, 


22  THE   COMING   OF  CUCULAIN 

and  who  not.  More  than  all  else  he  delighted 
to  hear  about  Fergus  Mac  Roy,  who  seemed  to 
him  the  greatest  and  best  of  all  the  Red  Branch. 
In  winter,  cradled  in  strong  arms,  he  Hstened  to 
the  reminiscences  and  conversation  of  the  men 
of  war  as  they  sat  and  talked  round  the  blazing 
logs  in  the  hall,  while  the  Hght  flickered  upon 
warlike  faces,  and  those  who  drew  drink  went 
round  bearing  mead  and  ale. 

Upon  his  seventh  birthday  early  in  the  morning 
he  ran  to  his  mother  and  cried,  "  Mother,  send 
me  now  to  Emain  Macha,  to  my  uncle." 

Dectera  grew  pale  when  she  heard  that  word 
and  her  knees  smote  together  with  loving  fear. 
For  answer  she  withdrew  him  from  the  society 
of  the  men  and  kept  him  by  herself  in  the 
women's  quarter,  which  was  called  grianan. 
The  grianan  was  in  the  north  end  of  the  palace 
behind  the  king's  throne.  In  the  hall  men 
could  see  above  them  the  rafters  which  upheld 
the  roof  and  the  joining  of  the  great  central 
pillar  with  the  same.  From  the  upper  storey 
of  the  grianan  a  door  opened  upon  the  great 
hall  directly  above  the  throne  of  the  king, 
and  before  that  door  was  a  railed  gallery. 

Thence  it  was  the  custom  of  Dectera  to  super- 
vise in  the  morning  the  labours  of  the  household 


SETANTA  RUNS   AWAY  23 

thralls  and  at  night  to  rebuke  unseemly  revelry, 
and  at  the  fit  hour  to  command  silence  and  sleep. 
Thence  too  in  the  evening,  ere  he  went  to  his 
small  couch,  Setanta  would  cry  out  "good-night" 
and  "  good  slumber  "  to  his  friends  in  the  hall, 
who  laughed  much  amongst  themselves  for  the 
secret  of  his  immurement  was  not  hid.  More- 
over, Dectera  gave  straight  commandment  to  her 
women,  at  peril  of  her  displeasure  and  of  sore 
bodily  chastisement,  that  they  should  not  speak 
to  him  any  word  concerning  Emain  Macha.  The 
boy  as  yet  knew  not  where  lay  the  wondrous 
city,  whether  in  heaven  or  on  earth  or  beyond 
the  sea.  To  him  it  was  still  as  it  were  a  fairy 
city  or  in  the  land  of  dreams. 

One  day  he  saw  afar  upon  the  plain  long  lines 
of  lowing  kine  and  of  laden  garrans  wending 
north-westward.  He  questioned  his  mother 
concerning  that  sight.  She  answered,  "  It  is  the 
high  King's  tribute  out  of  Murthemney."^ 

"  Mother,"  he  said,  "  how  runs  the  road  hence 
to  the  great  city  ?  " 

"  That  thou  shalt  not  know,"  said  his  mother, 
looking  narrowly  on  the  boy. 

But  still  the  strong  spirit  from  within,  irresis- 
tible,  urged  on  the  lad.     One  day  while  his 

*  A  territory  contertainous  with  the  modern  County  of  I^outh. 


24  THE   COMING   OF  CUCULAIN 

mother  conversed  with  him,  inadvertently  she 
uttered  certain  words,  and  he  knew  that  the  road 
to  Emain  Macha  went  past  the  mountain  of 
vSUeve  Fuad.^  That  night  he  dreamed  of 
Emain  Macha,  and  he  rose  up  early  in  the  morn- 
ing and  clambered  on  to  the  roof  of  the  palace 
through  a  window  and  gazed  long  upon  the 
mountain.  The  next  night  too  he  dreamed  of 
Emain  Macha,  and  heard  voices  which  were 
unintelligible,  and  again  the  third  night  he  heard 
the  voices  and  one  voice  said,  "  This  our  labour 
is  vain,  let  him  alone.  He  is  some  changeling 
and  not  of  the  blood  of  Rury.  He  will  be  a 
grazier,  I  think,  and  buy  cattle  and  sell  them 
for  a  profit."  And  the  other  said,  "  Nay,  let  us 
not  leave  him  yet.  Remember  how  valiantly 
he  faced  the  fierce  water-dog  and  slew  him  at 
one  cast."  When  he  climbed  to  the  roof,  as  his 
manner  was,  to  gaze  at  the  mountain,  he  thought 
that  Slieve  Fuad  nodded  to  him  and  beckoned. 
He  broke  fast  with  his  mother  and  the  women 
that  day  and  ate  and  drank  silently  with  bright 
eyes,  and  when  that  meal  was  ended  he  donned 
his  best  attire  and  took  his  toy  weapons  and  a 
new  ball  ^nd  his  ashen  hurle  shod  with  red  bronze. 

I  Now  the  Fews  mountain  lying  on  the  direct  way  between  Dundalk 
and  Armagh. 


SETANTA   RUNS   AWAY  25 

*'  Wherefore  this  hoHday  attire  ?  "  said  his 
mother. 

"  Because  I  shall  see  great  people  ere  I  put 
it  off,"  he  answered. 

She  kissed  him  and  he  went  forth  as  at  other 
times  to  play  upon  the  lawn  by  himself.  The 
king  sat  upon  a  stone  seat  hard  by  the  door  of 
the  grianan.  Under  the  eaves  he  sat  sunning 
himself  and  gazing  upon  the  sea.  The  boy 
kneeled  and  kissed  his  hand.  His  father  stroked 
his  head  and  said,  "  Win  victory  and  blessings, 
dear  Setanta."  He  looked  at  the  lad  as  if  he 
would  speak  further,  but  restrained  himself  and 
leaned  back  again  in  his  seat. 

Dectera  sat  in  the  window  of  the  upper 
chamber  amongst  her  women.  They  sat  around 
her  sewing  and  embroidering.  She  herself  was 
embroidering  a  new  mantle  for  the  boy  against 
his  next  birthday,  though  that  indeed  was  far 
away,  but  ever  while  her  hands  wrought  her  eyes 
were  on  the  lawn. 

"  Mother,"  cried  Setanta,  "  watch  this  stroke." 

He  flung  his  ball  into  the  air  and  as  it  fell 
met  it  with  his  hurle,  leaning  back  and  putting 
his  whole  force  into  the  blow,  and  struck  it  into 
the  clouds.  It  was  long  before  the  ball  fell. 
It  fell  at  his  feet. 


26  THE  COMING   OP  CUCULAIN 

*'  Mother,"  he  cried  again,  "  watch  this 
stroke." 

He  went  to  the  east  mearing  of  the  spacious 
lawn  and  struck  the  ball  to  the  west.  It  tra- 
versed the  great  lawn  ere  it  touched  the  earth 
and  bounded  shining  above  the  trees.  Truly 
it  was  a  marvellous  stroke  for  one  so  young. 
As  he  went  for  his  ball  the  boy  stood  still  before 
the  window.  "  Give  me  thy  blessing,  dear 
mother,"  he  said. 

"  Win  victory  and  blessing  for  ever,  O 
Setanta,"  she  answered.  "  Truly  thou  art  an 
expert  hurler." 

"  These  feats,"  he  replied,  "  are  nothing  to 
what  I  shall  yet  do  in  needlework,  O  mother, 
when  I  am  of'  age  to  be  trusted  with  my  first 
needle,  and  knighted  by  thy  hands,  and  enrolled 
amongst  the  valiant  company  of  thy  sewing- 
women." 

"  What  meaneth  the  boy  ?  "  said  his  mother, 
for  she  perceived  that  he  spoke  awry. 

"  That  his  childhood  is  over,  O  Dectera," 
answered  one  of  her  women,  "  and  that  thou  art 
living  in  the  past  and  in  dreams.  For  who  can 
hold  back  Time  in  his  career  ?  " 

The  queen's  heart  leaped  when  she  heard  that 
word^  and  the  blood  forsook  her  face.     She  bent 


SETANTA   RUNS   AWAY  27 

down  her  head  over  her  work  and  her  tears  fell. 
After  a  space  she  looked  out  again  upon  the  lawn 
to  see  if  the  boy  had  returned,  but  he  had  not. 

She  bade  her  women  go  and  fetch  him,  and 
afterwards  the  whole  household.  They  called 
aloud,  "  Setanta,  Setanta,"  but  there  was  no 
answer,  only  silence  and  the  watching  and  mock- 
ing trees  and  a  sound  like  low  laughter  in  the 
leaves  ;   for  Setanta  was  far  away. 

The  boy  came  out  of  that  forest  on  the  west 
side.  Soon  he  struck  the  great  road  which  from 
Ath-a-clia^  ran  through  Murthemney  to  Emain 
Macha,  and  saw  before  him  the  purple  mountain 
of  Slieve  Fuad.  In  his  left  hand  was  his  sheaf 
of  toy  javelins ;  in  his  right  the  hurle  ;  his 
Httle  shield  was  strapped  upon  his  back.  The 
boy  went  swiftly,  for  there  was  power  upon 
him  that  day,  and  with  his  ashen  hurle  shod 
with  red  bronze  ever  urged  his  ball  forward.  So 
he  went  driving,  his  ball  before  him.  At  other 
times  he  would  cast  a  javelin  far  out  westward 
and  pursue  its  flight.  Ever  as  he  went  there 
ever  flew  beside  him  a  grey-necked  crow.  "  It  is 
a  good  omen,"  said  the  boy,  for  he  knew  that  the 
bird  was  sacred  to  the  Mor-Reega. 

I  Ath-a-cliah,   i.e.,   the   Ford  of  the  Hurdles.     It  was  the   Irish 
name  for  Dubhn. 


28  THE  COMING   OF   CUCULAIN 

He  was  amazed  at  his  own  speed  and  the 
elasticity  of  his  Hmbs.  Once  when  he  rose  after 
having  gathered  his  thrown  javehn,  a  man  stood 
beside  him  who  had  the  port  and  countenance  of 
some  ancient  hero,  and  whose  attire  was  strange. 
He  was  taller  and  nobler  than  any  living  man. 
He  bore  a  rod-sling  in  his  right  hand,  and  in  his 
left,  in  a  leash  of  bronze,  he  led  a  hound.  The 
hound  was  like  white  fire.  Setanta  could  hardly 
look  in  that  man's  face,  but  he  did.  The  man 
smiled  and  said — 

"  Whither  away,  my  son  ?  " 

"  To  Emain  Macha,  to  my  uncle  Concobar," 
said  the  boy. 

"  Dost  thou  know  me,  Setanta  ?"  said  the  man. 

*'  I  think  thou  art  Lu  Lam-fada  Mac  Ethlend,"' 
answered  Setanta. 

"  I  am  thy  friend,"  said  the  man,  "  fear 
nothing,  for  I  shall  be  with  thee  always." 

Then  the  man  and  the  hound  disappeared  as  if 
they  had  been  resolved  into  the  rays  of  the  sun  ; 
Setanta  saw  nothing,  only  the  grey-necked  crow 
starting  for  flight.  Then  a  second  man  in  a  wide 
blue  mantle  specked  with  white  like  flying  foam 


I  I,u  the  Long-Handed  son  of  Ethlenn.  This  mysterious  being, 
being  one  of  the  deities  of  the  pagan  Irish,  seems  to  have  been  the 
Sun-god. 


SETANTA  BUNS   AWAY  29 

came  against  him  and  flung  his  mantle  over 
Setanta.  There  was  a  sound  in  his  ears  hke  the 
roaring  of  the  sea.^  Chariots  and  horses  came 
from  the  east  after  that.  Setanta  recognised 
those  who  urged  on  the  steeds,  they  were  his  own 
people.  "  Surely,"  he  said,  "  I  shall  be  taken 
now."  The  men  drave  past  him.  "If  I  mistake 
not,"  he  said,  "  the  man  who  flung  his  mantle 
over  me  was  Mananan  the  son  of  Lir." 

Divers  persons,  noble  and  ignoble,  passed  him 
on  the  way,  some  riding  in  chariots,  some  going 
on  foot.  They  went  as  though  they  saw  him 
not. 

In  the  evening  he  came  to  Slieve  Fuad.  He 
gathered  a  bed  of  dried  moss  and  heaped  moss 
upon  his  shield  for  a  pillow.  He  wrapped  himself 
in  his  mantle,  and  lay  down  to  sleep,  and  felt 
neither  cold  nor  hunger.  While  he  slept  a  great 
steed,  a  stallion,  grey  to  whiteness,  came  close  to 
him,  and  walked  all  round  him,  and  smelt  him, 
and  stayed  by  him  till  the  morning. 

Setanta  was  awaked  by  the  loud  singing  of  the 
birds.  Light  of  heart  the  boy  started  from  his 
mossy  couch  and  wondered  at  that  tuneful 
chorus.  The  dawning  day  trembled  through  the 
trees  still  half-bare,  for  it  was  the  month  of  May. 

*  This  man  was  Mananan  son  of  I<ir.     He  was  the  Sea-god. 


30  THE  COMING   OF   CUCULAIN 

*'  Horses  have  been  here  in  the  night,"  said 
the  boy,  "  one  horse.  What  mighty  hoof 
marks  !  "  He  wondered  the  more  seeing  how  the 
marks  encircled  him.  "  I  too  will  one  day  have 
a  chariot  and  horses,  and  a  deft  charioteer." 
He  stood  musing,  "Is  it  the  grey  of  Macha  ?^ 
They  say  that  he  haunts  this  mountain."  He 
hastened  to  the  brook,  and  finding  a  deep  pool, 
bathed  in  the  clear  pure  water  and  dried  himself 
in  his  woollen  bratta^  of  divers  colours.  Very 
happy  and  joyous  was  Setanta  that  day.  And 
he  spread  out  the  bratta  to  dry,  and  put  on  his 
shirt  of  fine  linen  and  his  woollen  tunic  that 
reached  to  the  knees  in  many  plaits.  Shoes 
he  had  none ;  bare  and  naked  were  his  swift 
feet. 

"  This  is  the  mountain  of  Fuad  the  son  of 
Brogan,"3  said  he.  "I  would  I  knew  where  lies 
his  cairn  in  this  great  forest  that  I  might  pay  my 
stone-tribute  to  the  hero."  Soon  he  found  it 
and  laid  his  stone  upon  the  heap.  He  cHmbed 
to  the  hill's  brow  and  looked  westward  and  saw 
far  away  the  white  shining  duns  of  the  marvellous 

I  The  goddess  Macha,  akeady  referred  to,  had  a  horse  which  was 
called  the  Grey  of  Macha — Liath-Macha.  He  was  said  to  be  still 
alive  dwelling  invisibly  in  Erin. 

*  The  GaeUc  word  for  mantle. 

3  An  andent  Milesian  hero.     Brogan  was  uncle  of  Milesius. 


SETANTA  RUNS   AWAY  3 1 

city  from  which,  even  now,  the  morning  smoke 
went  up  into  the  windless  air.  He  trembled, 
and  rejoiced,  and  wept.  He  stood  a  long  time 
there  gazing  at  Emain  Macha.  Descending, 
he  struck  again  the  great  road,  but  he  went 
slowly  :  he  cast  not  his  javelins  and  drave  not  his 
ball.  Again,  from  a  rising  ground  he  saw  Emain 
Macha,  this  time  near  at  hand.  He  remained 
there  a  long  time  filled  with  awe  and  fear.  He 
covered  his  head  with  his  mantle  and  wept 
aloud,  and  said  he  would  return  to  Dun  Dalgan, 
that  he  dared  not  set  unworthy  feet  in  that  holy 
place. 

Then  he  heard  the  cheerful  voices  of  the  boys 
as  they  brake  from  the  royal  palace  and  ran  down 
the  wide  smooth  lawn  to  the  hurling-ground. 
His  heart  yearned  for  their  companionship,  yet 
he  feared  greatly,  and  his  mind  misgave  him  as 
to  the  manner  in  which  they  would  receive  him. 
He  longed  to  go  to  them  and  say,  "  I  am  little 
Setanta,  and  my  uncle  is  the  king,  and  I  would 
be  your  friend  and  playfellow."  Hope  and  love 
and  fear  confused  his  mind.  Yet  it  came  to 
him  that  he  was  urged  forwards,  by  whom  he 
knew  not.  Reluctantly,  with  many  pausings, 
he  drew  nigh  to  the  players  and  stood  solitary 
on  the  edge  of  the  lawn  southwards,  for  the 


32  THE  COMING   OF  CUCtJLAlN 

company  that  held  that  barrier  were  the  weaker. 
He  hoped  that  some  one  would  call  to  him  and 
welcome  him,  but  none  called  or  welcomed. 
Silently  the  child  wept,  and  the  front  of  his 
mantle  was  steeped  in  his  tears.  Some  looked 
at  him,  but  with  looks  of  cold  surprise,  as  though 
they  said,  "  Who  is  this  stranger  boy  and  what 
doth  he  here  ?  Would  that  he  took  himself 
away  out  of  this  and  went  elsewhere."  The  boy 
thought  that  he  would  be  welcomed  and  made 
much  of  because  he  was  a  king's  son  and  nephew 
of  the  high  King  of  Ulla,  and  on  account  of  his 
skill  in  hurling,  and  because  he  himself  longed  so 
exceedingly  for  companions  and  comrades,  and 
because  there  were  within  him  such  fountains  of 
affection  and  loving  kindness.  And  many  a  time 
happy  visions  had  passed  before  his  eyes  awake 
or  asleep  of  the  meeting  between  himself  and  his 
future  comrades,  but  the  event  itself  when  it 
happened  was  by  no  means  what  he  had  antici- 
pated. For  no  one  kissed  him  and  bade  him 
welcome  or  took  him  by  the  right  hand  and  led 
him  in,  and  no  one  seemed  glad  of  his  coming 
and  he  was  here  of  no  account  at  all.  Bitter 
truly  was  thy  weeping,  dear  Setanta. 


CHAPTER   V      ' 

THE    NEW    BOY 

"  I  to  surrender,  to  fling  away  this  !  So  owned  by  God  and 
Man  !  so  witnessed  to  !  I  had  rather  be  rolled  into  my  grave  and 
buried  with  infamy." — Battle-chaunt  of  a  hero  of  the  Saxons. 

Once,  struck  sideways  out  of  the  press,  the  ball 
bounded  into  a  clear  space  not  far  from  Setanta. 
*'  Thou  of  the  Javelins,"  cried  the  captain  of  the 
distressed  party,  "  the  ball  is  with  thee."  He 
roared  mightily  at  Setanta.  On  a  sudden 
Setanta,  filled  with  all  the  glow  and  ardour  of 
the  mimic  battle,  cast  his  javelins  to  the  ground, 
slipped  the  strap  of  his  shield  over  his  head,  flung 
the  shield  beside  his  javelins  on  the  grass  and 
pursued  the  bounding  ball.  He  out-ran  the  rest 
and  took  possession  of  the  ball.  Now  to  the 
right  he  urged  it,  now  to  the  left.  He  played 
it  deftly  before  every  opponent  who  sought  to 
check  his  career,  and  swiftly  and  cunningly 
carried  it  past  each  of  these,  and  finally  with  a 
clear  loud  stroke  sent  it  straight  as  a  sling-bolt 
through  the  middle  of  the  north  goal.  The  boys 
of  his  adopted  party  shouted,  and  they  praised 

33 


34  THE   COMING   OF   CUCULAIN 

his  playing  and  that  final  victorious  stroke. 
Setanta  went  back  after  that  and  stood  by  him- 
self near  the  south  goal.  His  face  was  flushed 
and  his  eyes  sparkled,  and  he  himself  trembled 
with  joy,  yet  was  he  not  in  the  least  exhausted 
or  out  of  breath. 

The  captain  of  the  northern  company  came 
down  with  his  boys  and  all  the  boys  who  were 
chief  in  authority,  and  they  surrounded  Setanta 
and  said,  "  Thou  art  here  a  stranger  and  on  suffer- 
ance. We  know  thee  not,  but  thou  art  a  good 
hurler  and  not  otherwise,  as  we  think,  unmeet  to 
bear  us  company.  Receive  now  our  protection, 
and  we  will  divide  the  sides  again  with  a  new 
division  and  continue  the  game,  for  thou  art 
very  swift  and  truly  expert  in  the  use  of  thy 
hurle." 

The  boys  regulated  all  things  according  to  the 
laws  and  customs  of  their  elders.  And  every- 
where it  was  the  custom  that  the  weak  should 
accept  the  protection  of  the  strong  and  submit 
themselves  to  their  command.  So  slaves  re- 
ceived masters,  so  runaways  and  fugitives  got 
to  themselves  lords,  and  sheltered  themselves 
under  their  protection  and  paid  dues.  Setanta' s 
brow  fell,  and  he  answered,  "  Put  not  upon  me, 
I  pray  you,  these  hard  terms.     I  would  be  your 


THE  NEW   BOY 


35 


friend  and  comrade,  I  cannot  be  your  subject 
being  what  I  am." 

And  they  said,  "  Who  art  thou  ?  " 

And  he  answered,  "  I  am  the  son  of  Dectera 
of  Dun  Dalgan,  and  nephew  of  the  king." 

Then  the  boy  who  was  captain  of  the  whole 
school,  and  the  biggest  and  strongest,  stood  over 
him,  and  said — 

"  Thou,  the  king's  nephew !  the  son  of 
Sualtam  and  Dectera  of  Dun  Dalgan  !  and 
comest  hither  without  chariots  and  horsemen 
and  a  prince's  retinue  and  guard.  Nay,  thou  art 
a  churl  and  a  liar  to  boot,  and  hie  thee  hence 
now  with  wings  at  thy  heels  or  verily  with  sore 
blows  I  shall  beat  thee  off  the  lawn." 

Thereat  the  blood  forsook  thy  face,  O  Setanta, 
O  peerless  one,  and  thou  stoodest  like  a  still 
figure  carved  out  of  white  marble,  with  the  pallor 
of  death  in  thy  immortal  face.  But  that  other, 
indignant  to  see  him  stand  as  one  both  deaf 
and  dumb,  and  mistaking  his  pallor  for  fear, 
raised  his  hurle  and  struck  with  all  his  might 
at  the  boy.  Setanta  sprang  back  avoiding  the 
blow,  and  ere  the  other  could  recover  himself, 
struck  him  back-handed  over  the  right  ear,  whose 
knees  were  suddenly  relaxed  and  the  useless 
weapon  shaken  from  his  hands.     Then  some 


36  THE   COMING   OF  CDCDLAIN 

stood  aside,  but  the  rest  ran  upon  Setanta  to 
beat  him  off  the  lawn  and  struck  at  him  all 
together,  as  well  as  they  could,  for  their  numbers 
impeded  them,  and  fiercely  the  stranger  defended 
himself,  and  many  a  shrewd  stroke  he  delivered 
upon  his  enemies,  for  the  slumbering  war-spirit 
now,  for  the  first  time,  had  awaked  in  his  gentle 
heart.  Many  times  he  was  overborne  and  flung 
to  the  ground,  but  again  he  arose  overthrowing 
others,  never  quitting  hold  of  his  hurle,  and, 
whenever  he  got  a  free  space,  grasping  that 
weapon  like  a  war-mace  in  both  hands,  he  struck 
down  his  foes.  The  skirts  of  his  mantle  were 
torn,  only  a  rag  remained  round  his  shoulders, 
fastened  by  the  brooch  ;  he  was  covered  with 
blood,  his  own  and  his  enemies',  and  his  eyes 
were  like  burning  fire.  Then  Conall  Carna 
being  enraged  ran  towards  the  boys,  meaning 
to  rebuke  their  cowardice  and  with  his  strong 
hands  hurl  them  asunder  and  save  the  stranger 
boy.  There  was  not  a  knight  in  all  Ireland 
those  days  who  loved  battle-fairness  better  than 
Conall  Carna.  Truly  he  was  the  pure-burning 
torch  of  the  chivalry  of  the  Ultonians  in  his 
time.  But  as  he  ran  one  withheld  him  and  a 
voice  crying  "  Forbear  "  rang  in  his  ears.  Yet 
he  saw  no  man.     He  stood  still,  being  astonished. 


THE   NEW   BOY 


37 


and  became  aware  that  this  tumult  was  divinely 
guided,  for  as  in  a  trance  he  saw  and  heard 
marvellous  things.  For  the  war-steeds  of  the 
Ultonians  neighed  loudly  in  their  stables,  and 
from  the  Tec  Brae,  the  Speckled  House  of  the 
Red  Branch,  rose  a  clangour  of  brass,  the  roar 
of  the  shield  called  Ocean,  and  the  booming  of 
the  Gate-of-Battle,  and  the  singing  of  swords 
long  silent,  and  the  brazen  thunder  of  the 
revolution  of  wheels  ;  and  he  saw  strange  forms 
and  faces  in  the  air,  and  the  steady  sun  dancing 
in  the  heavens,  and  a  man  standing  beside  the 
stranger  whose  face  was  like  the  sun.  The  son 
of  Amargin  saw  and  heard  all,  for  he  was  a  seer 
and  a  prophet  no  less  than  a  warrior.  But 
meantime  his  battle-fury  descended  upon 
Setanta,  his  countenance  was  distraught  and  his 
strength  was  multiphed  tenfold,  and  the  steam 
of  his  war-madness  rose  above  him.  He  stag- 
gered to  no  blow,  but  every  boy  whom  he  struck 
fell,  and  he  charged  this  way  and  that,  and 
wherever  he  went  they  opened  before  him. 
Then  seeing  how  they  closed  in  behind  him  and 
on  each  side,  he  beat  his  way  back  to  the  grassy 
rampart  in  which  was  the  goal,  and,  facing  his 
enemies,  bade  them  come  against  him  again  in 
their  troops,  many  against  one.     "  You  have 


38  THE  COMING   OF   CUCULAIN 

offered  me  your  protection,"  he  said,  "  and  I 
would  not  endure  it,  but  now  I  swear  to  you 
by  all  my  gods  that  you  and  I  do  not  part  this 
day  till  you  have  accepted  my  protection,  or  till 
I  lie  without  life  on  this  lawn  a  trophy  of  your 
prowess  and  a  monument  of  the  chivalry  and 
hospitality  of  the  Red  Branch."  Then  a  boy 
stood  out  from  the  rest.  He  was  freckled,  and 
with  red  hair,  and  his  voice  was  loud  and 
fierce. 

"  Thou  shalt  have  a  comrade  in  thy  battle 
henceforward,"  he  said,  "  O  brave  stranger. 
On  the  banks  of  the  Nemnich,^  where  it  springs 
beneath  my  father's  dun  on  the  Hill  of  Gabra, 
nigh  Tara,  I  met  a  prophetess  ;  Acaill  is  her 
name,  the  wisest  of  all  women  ;  and  I  asked  her 
who  would  be  my  life-friend.  And  she  answered, 
'  I  see  him  standing  against  a  green  wall  at 
Emain  Macha,  at  bay,  with  the  blood  and  soil 
of  battle  upon  him,  and  alone  he  gives  challenge 
to  a  multitude.  He  is  thy  life-friend,  O  Laeg,' 
she  said,  '  and  no  man  ever  had  a  friend  like 
him  or  will  till  the  end  of  time.'  " 

So  saying  he  ran  to  Setanta,  and  kneeling 
down  he  took  him  by  his  right  hand,  and  said. 


*  Now  the  Nanny-Water,  a  beautiful  stream  running  from  Tara 
to  the  sea. 


THE  NEW   BOY 


39 


'*  I  am  thy  man  from  this  day  forward."  And 
after  that  he  arose  and  kissed  him,  and  standing 
by  his  side  cried,  "  O  Cumascra  Mend  Macha, 
O  stammering  son  of  Concobar,  if  ever  I  was  a 
shield  to  thee  against  thy  mockers,  come  hither  ; 
and  thou  too  come  O  Art  Storm-Ear,  and  thou 
Art  of  the  Shadow,  and  thou  OFionn  of  the  Songs, 
and  you  O  Ide  and  Sheehng,  who  were  nursed 
at  the  same  breast  and  knee  with  myself."  So 
he  summoned  to  him  his  friends,  and  they  came 
to  him,  and  there  came  to  him,  uninvited,  the 
three  sons  of  Fergus  and  others  whose  hearts 
were  stirred  with  shame  or  ruth.  Yet,  indeed, 
they  were  few  compared  with  the  multitude  of 
his  enemies.  Then  for  the  first  time  the  boy's 
soul  was  confused,  and  he  cried  aloud,  and  bowed 
his  head  between  his  hands,  and  the  hot  tears  -^ 
gushed  forth  like  rain  from  his  eyes,  mingled 
with  blood.  Soon,  hearing  the  loud  mockery 
and  derisive  laughter  of  his  enemies,  he  hardened 
his  heart  and  went  out  against  them  with  these 
his  friends,  and  drove  them  over  the  whole  course 
of  the  playing-ground,  and,  hard  by  the  north 
goal,  he  brake  the  battle  upon  them  and  they 
fled.  Of  the  fugitives  some  ran  round  the  King 
and  the  Champion  where  they  sat,  but  Setanta 
running  straight  sprang  lightly  over  the  chess 


40  THE  COMING   OF   CUCULAIN 

table.  Then  Concobar,  reaching  forth  his  left 
hand,  caught  him  by  the  wrist  and  brought  him 
to  a  standj  panting  and  with  dilated  eyes. 

"  Why  art  thou  so  enraged  ?  "  said  the  King, 
"  and  why  dost  thou  so  maltreat  my  boys  ?  " 

It  was  a  long  time  before  the  boy  answered, 
so  furiously  burned  the  battle-fire  within  him, 
so  that  the  King  repeated  his  question  more  than 
once.     At  last  he  made  answer — 

"  Because  they  have  not  treated  me  with  the 
respect  due  to  a  stranger." 

"  Who  art  thou  thyself  ?  "  said  the  King. 

"  I  am  Setanta,  son  of  Sualtam  and  of  Dec- 
tera  thy  own  sister,  and  it  is  not  before  my  uncle's 
palace  that  I  should  be  dishonoured." 

Concobar  smiled,  for  he  was  well  pleased  with 
the  appearance  and  behaviour  of  the  boy,  but 
Fergus  caught  him  up  in  his  great  arms  and 
kissed  him,  and  he  said — 

"  Dost  thou  know  me,  O  Setanta  ?  " 

"  I  think  thou  art  Fergus  Mac  Roy,"  he 
answered. 

"  Wilt  thou  have  me  for  thy  tutor  ?"  said 
Fergus. 

"  Right  gladly,"  answered  Setanta.  "  For  in 
that  hope  too  I  left  Dun  Dalgan,  coming  hither 
secretly  without  the  knowledge  of  my  parents." 


THE  NEW  BOY  4I 

This  was  the  first  martial  exploit  of  Setanta, 
who  is  also  called  Cuculain,  and  the  reward  of 
this  his  first  battle  was  that  the  boys  at  his 
uncle's  school  elected  him  to  be  for  their  captain, 
and  one  and  all  they  put  themselves  under  his 
protection.  And  a  gentle  captain  made  he  when 
the  war-spirit  went  out  of  him,  and  a  good  play- 
fellow and  con:rade  was  Setanta  amongst  his 
new  friends. 

That  night  Setanta  and  Laeg  slept  in  the  same 
bed  of  healing  after  the  physicians  had  dressed 
their  wounds  ;  and  they  related  many  things  to 
each  other,  and  oft  times  they  kissed  one  another 
with  great  affection,  till  sweet  sleep  made  heavy 
their  eyelids. 

So,  impelled  by  the  unseen,  Setanta  came  to 
Emain  Macha  without  the  knowledge  of  his 
parents,  but  in  fulfilment  of  the  law,  for  at  a 
certain  age  all  the  boys  of  the  Ultonians  should 
come  thither  to  associate  there  with  their  equals 
and  superiors,  and  be  instructed  by  appointed 
tutors  in  the  heroic  arts  of  war  and  the  beautiful 
arts  of  peace.  Concobar  Mac  Nessa  was  not 
only  King  of  Ulster  and  captain  of  the  Red 
Branch,  but  was  also  the  head  and  chief  of  a 
great  school.  In  this  school  the  boys  did  not 
injure  their  eyesight  and  impair  their  health 


42  THE  COMING   OF   CUCULAIN 

by  poring  over  books  ;  nor  were  compelled  to 
learn  what  they  could  not  understand  ;  nor 
were  instructed  by  persons  whom  they  did  not 
wish  to  resemble.  They  were  taught  to  hurl 
spears  at  a  mark  ;  to  train  war-horses  and  guide 
war-chariots  ;  to  lay  on  with  the  sword  and 
defend  themselves  with  sword  and  shield  ;  to 
cast  the  hand-stone  of  the  warrior — a  great 
art  in  those  days  ;  to  run,  to  leap,  and  to  swim  ; 
to  rear  tents  of  turf  and  branches  swiftly,  and  to 
roof  them  with  sedge  and  rushes  ;  to  speak 
appropriately  with  equals  and  superiors  and 
inferiors,  and  to  exhibit  the  beautiful  practices 
of  hospitality  according  to  the  rank  of  guests, 
whether  kings,  captains,  warriors,  bards  or 
professional  men,  or  unknown  wayfarers  ;  and 
to  play  at  chess  and  draughts,  which  were  the 
chief  social  pastimes  of  the  age  ;  and  to  drink 
and  be  merry  in  hall,  but  always  without  in- 
toxication ;  and  to  respect  their  plighted  word 
and  be  ever  loyal  to  their  captains  ;  to  reverence 
women,  remembering  always  those  who  bore 
them  and  suckled  when  they  were  themselves 
helpless  and  of  no  account ;  to  be  kind  to  the 
feeble  and  unwarlike  ;  and,  in  short,  all  that  it 
became  brave  men  to  feel  and  to  think  and  to 
do  in  war  and  in  peace.    Also  there  were  those 


THE   NEW    BOY  43 

who  taught  them  the  history  of  their  ancestors, 
the  great  names  of  the  Clanna  Rury,  and  to 
distinguish  between  those  who  had  done  well 
and  those  who  had  not  done  so  well,  and  the  few 
who  had  done  ill.  And  these  their  several  in- 
structors appointed  by  Concobar  Mac  Nessa  and 
the  council  of  his  wise  men  were  famous  captains 
of  the  Ultonians,  and  approved  bards  and 
historians.  And  over  all  the  high  king  of  Ulster, 
Concobar  Mac  Nessa,  was  chief  and  president, 
not  in  name  only  but  in  fact,  being  well  aware 
of  all  the  instructors  and  all  the  instructed,  and 
who  was  doing  well  and  exhibiting  heroic  traits, 
and  who  was  doing  ill,  tending  downwards  to 
the  vast  and  slavish  multitude  whose  office  was 
to  labour  and  to  serve  and  in  no  respect  to  bear 
rule,  which  is  for  ever  the  office  of  the  multitude 
in  whose  souls  no  god  has  kindled  the  divine  fire 
by  which  the  lamp  of  the  sun,  and  the  candles 
of  the  stars,  and  the  glory  and  prosperity  of 
nations  are  sustained  and  fed.  Such,  and  so 
supervised,  was  the  Royal  School  of  Emain 
Macha  in  the  days  when  Concobar  Mac  Nessa 
was  King,  and  when  Fergus  Mac  Roy  Champion, 
and  when  the  son  of  Sualtam,  not  yet  known  by 
his  rightful  name,  was  a  pupil  of  the  same  and 
under  tutors  and  governors  like  the  rest,  though 


44  THE  COMING   OF  CUCULAIN 

his  fond  mother  would  have  evaded  the  law,  for 
she  loved  him  dearly,  and  feared  for  him  the  rude 
companionship  and  the  stern  discipline,  the  early- 
rising  and  the  strong  labours  of  the  great  school. 


CHAPTER  VI 

THE  smith's  supper  PARTY 

"  Bearing  on  shoulders  immense 
Atlantean  the  weight. 
Well  nigh  not  to  be  borne. 

Of  the  too  vast  orb  of  her  fate." 

Matthew  Arnoi,d, 

One  day,  in  the  forenoon,  a  man  came  to  Emain 
Macha.  He  was  grim  and  swarthy,  with  great 
hands  and  arms.  He  made  no  reverence  to 
Concobar  or  to  any  of  the  Ultonians,  but  standing 
stark  before  them,  spake  thus,  not  fluently  : — 
"  My  master,  Culain,  high  smith  of  all  Ulster, 
bids  thee  to  supper  this  night,  O  Concobar  ;  and 
he  wills  thee  to  know  that  because  he  has  not 
wide  territories,  and  flocks,  and  herds,  and 
tribute-paying  peoples,  only  the  implements 
of  his  industry,  his  anvils  and  hammers  and 
tongs,  and  the  slender  profits  of  his  labour,  he 
feareth  to  feast  all  the  Red  Branch,  who  are 
by  report  mighty  to  eat  and  to  drink  ;  he  would 
not  for  all  Ireland  bring  famine  upon  his  own 
industrious  youths,  his  journeymen  and  his 
apprentices.     Come    therefore    with    a    choice 

45 


46  THE   COMING   OF  CUCDLAIN 

selection  of  thy  knights,  choosing  those  who  are 
not  great  eaters,  and  drinkers,  and  you  shall 
all  have  a  fair  welcome,  a  goodly  supper,  and  a 
proportionate  quantity  of  drink."  That  speech 
was  a  cause  of  great  mirth  to  the  Ultonians  ; 
nevertheless  they  restrained  their  laughter,  so 
that  the  grim  ambassador,  who  seemed  withal 
to  be  a  very  angry  man,  saw  nothing  but  grave 
countenances.  Concobar  answered  him  cour- 
teously, saying  that  he  accepted  the  invitation, 
and  that  he  would  be  mindful  of  the  smith's 
wishes.  When  the  man  departed  the  Red 
Branch  gave  a  loose  rein  to  their  mirth,  each  man 
charging  the  other  with  being  in  especial  the 
person  whose  presence  would  be  a  cause  of 
sorrow  to  the  smith. 

Culain  was  a  mighty  craftsman  in  those  days. 
It  was  he  who  used  to  make  weapons,  armour, 
and  chariots  for  the  Ultonians,  and  there  was 
never  in  Ireland  a  better  smith  than  he.  In  his 
huge  and  smoky  dun  the  ringing  of  hammers  and 
the  husky  roar  of  the  bellows  seldom  ceased  ; 
even  at  night  the  red  glare  of  his  furnaces  painted 
far  and  wide  the  barren  moor  where  he  dwelt. 
Herdsmen  and  shepherds  who,  in  quest  of 
estrays,  found  themselves  unawares  in  this 
neighbourhood,    fled    away    praying    to    their 


THE   smith's    supper   PARTY  ^f 

gods,  and,  as  they  ran,  murmured  incantations. 

In  the  afternoon  Concobar,  having  made  as 
good  a  selection  as  he  could  of  his  chief  men,  set 
forth  to  go.  As  they  passed  through  the  lawn 
he  saw  Setanta  playing  with  his  comrades.  He 
stopped  for  a  while  to  look,  and  then  called  the 
lad,  who  came  at  once  and  stood  erect  and  silent 
before  the  King.  He  was  now  full  ten  years  of 
age,  straight  and  well-made  and  with  sinews 
as  hard  as  tempered  steel.  When  he  saw  the 
company  looking  at  him,  he  blushed,  and  his 
blushing  became  him  well. 

"  Culain  the  smith,"  said  Concobar,  "  hath 
invited  us  to  a  feast.  If  it  is  pleasing  to  thee, 
come  too." 

"  It  is  pleasing  indeed,"  replied  the  boy,  for 
he  ardently  desired  to  see  the  famous  artificer, 
his  people,  his  furnaces,  and  his  engines.  "  But 
let  me  first,  I  pray  thee,  see  this  our  game 
brought  to  an  end,  for  the  boys  await  my  return. 
After  that  I  will  follow  quickly,  nor  can  I  lose  my 
way  upon  the  moor,  for  the  road  hence  to  the 
smith's  dun  is  well  trodden  and  scored  with 
wheels,  and  the  sky  too  at  night  is  red  above  the 
city." 

Concobar  gave  him  permission,  and  Setanta 
hastened  back  to  his  playmates,  who  hailed  him 


48  THfi  COMING  OP  CUCUtiAlN 

gladly  in  his  returning,  for  they  feared  that  the 
King  might  have  taken  him  away  from  them. 

The  King  and  his  great  men  went  away  east- 
ward after  that  and  they  conversed  eagerly  by  the 
way,  talking  sometimes  of  a  certain  recent  great 
rebellion  of  the  non-Irian  kings  of  Ulla,^  and  of 
each  other's  prowess  and  the  prowess  of  the 
insurgents,  and  sometimes  of  the  smith  and  his 
strange  and  unusual  invitation. 

**  Say  no  word  and  do  no  thing,"  said  Conco- 
bar,  "  at  which  even  a  very  angry  and  sus- 
picious man  might  take  offence,  for  as  to  our 
host  and  his  artificers,  their  ways  are  not  like 
ours,  or  their  thoughts  like  our  thoughts,  and 
they  are  a  great  and  formidable  people." 

The  Red  Branch  did  not  relish  that  speech, 
for  they  thought  that  under  the  measureless 
canopy  of  the  sky  there  were  no  people  great  or 
formidable  but  themselves. 

*  The  Ultonians  were  descended  from  It,  son  of  Milesius. 


\ 


CHAPTER  VII 

SETANTA  AND  THE  SMITH'S  DOG 

"  How  he  fell 
From  heaven,  they  fabled,  thrown  by  angry  Jove 
•Sheer  o'er  the  crystal  battlements  ;   from  mom 
To  noon,  from  noon  to  dewy  eve, 
A  Summer's  day,  he  fell ;   and  with  the  setting  sun 
Dropped  from  the  zenith  hke  a  faUing  star. 
On  Lemnos."  MuTON. 

When  Culain  saw  far  away  the  tall  figures  of  the 
Ultonians  against  the  sunset,  and  the  flashing  of 
their  weapons  and  armour,  he  cried  out  with  a 
loud  voice  to  his  people  to  stop  working  and  slack 
the  furnaces  and  make  themselves  ready  to 
receive  the  Red  Branch  ;  and  he  bade  the  house- 
hold thralls  prepare  the  supper,  roast,  boiled  and 
stewed,  which  he  had  previously  ordered.  Then 
he  himself  and  his  journeymen  and  apprentices 
stripped  themselves,  and  in  huge  keeves  of  water 
filled  by  their  slaves  they  washed  from  them  the 
smoke  and  sweat  of  their  labour  and  put  on  clean 
clothes.  The  mirrors  at  which  they  dressed 
themselves  were  the  darkened  waters  of  their 
enormous  tubs. 

Culain  sent  a  party  of  his  men  and  those  who 


50  THE   COMING   OF  CUCULAIN 

were  the  best  dressed  and  the  most  comely  and 
who  were  the  boldest  and  most  eloquent  in  the 
presence  of  strangers,  to  meet  the  high  King  of 
the  Ultonians  on  the  moor,  but  he  himself  stood 
huge  in  the  great  doorway  just  beyond  the 
threshold  and  in  front  of  the  bridge  over  which 
the  Red  Branch  party  was  to  pass.  He  had  on 
him  over  his  clothes  a  clean  leathern  apron  which 
was  not  singed  or  scored.  It  was  fastened  at  his 
shoulders  and  half  covered  his  enormous  hairy 
chest,  was  girt  again  at  his  waist  and  descended 
below  his  knees.  He  stood  with  one  knee 
crooked,  leaning  upon  a  long  ash-handled  sledge 
with  a  head  of  glittering  bronze.  There  he  gave 
a  friendly  and  grave  welcome  to  the  King  and 
to  all  the  knights  one  by  one.  It  was  dusk  when 
Concobar  entered  the  dun. 

"  Are  all  thy  people  arrive^  ?  "  said  the 
smith. 

"  They  are,"  said  Concobar. 

Culain  bade  his  people  raise  the  drawbridge 
which  spanned  the  deep  black  moat  surrounding 
the  city,  and  after  that,  with  his  own  hands  he 
unchained  his  one  dog.  The  dog  was  of  great 
size  and  fierceness.  It  was  supposed  that  there 
was  no  man  in  Ireland  whom  he  could  not  drag 
down.     He  had  no  other  good  quahty  than  that 


SETANTA   AND   THE    SMITH  S    DOG  5 1 

he  was  faithful  to  his  master  and  guarded  his 
property  vigilantly  at  night.  He  was  quick  of 
sight  and  hearing  and  only  slept  in  the  daytime. 
Being  let  loose  he  sprang  over  the  moat  and 
three  times  careered  round  the  city,  baying 
fearfully.  Then  he  stood  stiffly  on  the  edge 
of  the  moat  to  watch  and  listen,  and  growled 
at  intervals  when  he  heard  some  noise  far  away. 
It  was  then  precisely  that  Setanta  set  forth  from 
Emain  Macha.  Earth  quaked  to  the  growling 
of  that  ill  beast. 

In  the  meantime  the  smith  went  into  the  dun, 
and  when  he  had  commanded  his  people  to  light 
the  candles  throughout  the  chamber,  he  slammed 
to  the  vast  folding  doors  with  his  right  hand  and 
his  left,  and  drew  forth  the  massy  bar  from  its 
place  and  shot  it  into  the  opposing  cavity.  There 
was  not  a  knight  amongst  the  Red  Branch  who 
could  shut  one  of  those  doors,  using  both  hands 
and  his  whole  strength.  Of  the  younger  knights, 
some  started  to  their  feet  and  laid  their  hands 
on  their  sword  hilts  when  they  heard  the  bolt 
shot. 

The  smith  sat  down  on  his  high  seat  over 
against  Concobar,  with  his  dusky  sons  and  kins- 
men around  him,  and  truly  they  contrasted 
strangely  with  the  bravery  and  beauty  of  the 


52  THE   COMING   OF  CUCULAIN 

Ultonians.  He  called  for  ale,  and  holding  in  his 
hands  a  huge  four-cornered  mether  of  the  same, 
rimmed  with  silver  and  furnished  with  a  double 
silver  hand-grip,  he  pledged  the  King  and  bade 
him  and  his  a  kindly  welcome.  He  swore,  too, 
that  no  generation  of  the  children  of  Rury,  and 
he  had  wrought  for  many,  had  done  more  credit 
to  his  workmanship  than  themselves,  nor  had  he 
ever  made  the  appliances  of  war  for  any  of  the 
Gael  with  equal  pleasure.  Concobar,  on  the 
other  hand,  responded  discreetly,  and  praised 
the  smith-work.'Of  "C^ojain,  praising  chiefly  the 
shield  called  Ocean,  ^  wiiich  was  one  of  the  won- 
[e  north-west  of  Europe.  The  smith 
and  all  his  people  were  well  pleased  at  that 
speech,  and  Culain  bade  his  thralls  serve  supper, 
which  proved  to  be  a  very  noble  repast.  There 
was  enough  and  to  spare  for  all  the  Ultonians. 
When  supper  was  ended,  the  heroes  and  the 
artificers  pledged  each  other  many  times  and 
drank  also  to  the  memory  of  famous  men  of  yore 
and  their  fathers  who  begat  them,  as  was  right 
and  customary  ;  and  they  became  very  friendly 
and  merry  without  intoxication,  for  intoxication 
was  not  known  in  the  age  of  the  heroes. 

^  Concobar's  shield.     When  Concobar  was  in  danger  th»  shield 
roared.    The  sea,  too,  roared  responsive. 


SETANTA  AND  THE  SMITH  S  DOG        53 

Then  said  Concobar  :  "  We  have  this  night 
toasted  many  heroes  who  are  gone,  and,  as  it  is 
not  right  that  we  should  praise  ourselves,  I 
propose  that  we  drink  now  to  the  heroes  that  are 
coming,  both  those  unborn,  and  those  who, 
still  being  boys,  are  under  tutors  and  instructors  ;.._.^ 
and  for  this  toast  I  name  the  name  of  my  nephew 
Setanta,  son  of  Sualtam,  who,  if  any,  will  one 
day,  O  Culain,  if  I  mistake  not,  illustrate  in  an 
unexampled  manner  thy  skill  as  an  artificer  of 
weapons  and  armour." 

"  Is  he  then  a  boy  of  that  promise,  O  Conco- 
bar ?  "  said  the  smith,  "  for  if  he  is  I  am  truly 
rejoiced  to  hear  it." 

"  He  is  all  that  I  say,"  answered  the  King  some- 
what hotly,  "and  of  a  beauty  corresponding.  And 
of  that  thou  shalt  be  the  judge  to-night,  for  he  is 
coming,  and  indeed  I  am  momentarily  expecting 
to  hear  the  loud  clamour  of  his  brazen  hurle 
upon  the  doors  of  the  dun,  after  his  having  leapt 
at  one  bound  both  thy  moat  and  thy  rampart." 

The  smith  started  from  his  high  seat  uttering 
a  great  oath,  such  as  men  used  then,  and  sternly 
chid  Concobar  because  he  had  said  that  all  his 
people  had  arrived.  "  If  the  boy  comes  now," 
he  said,  "  ere  I  can  chain  the  dog,  verily  he  will 
be  torn  into  small  pieces." 


54  THE   COMING   OF  CUCULAIN 

Just  then  they  heard  the  baying  of  the  dog 
sounding  terribly  in  the  hollow  night,  and  every 
face  was  blanched  throughout  the  vast  chamber. 
Then  without  was  heard  a  noise  of  trampling 
feet  and  short  furious  yells  and  sibilant  gaspings, 
as  of  one  who  exerts  all  his  strength,  after  which 
a  dull  sound  at  which  the  earth  seemed  to  shake, 
mingled  with  a  noise  of  breaking  bones,  and 
after  that  silence.  Ere  the  people  in  the  dun 
could  do  more  than  look  at  each  other  speechless, 
they  heard  a  clear  but  not  clamorous  knocking 
at  the  doors  of  the  dun.  Some  of  the  smith's 
young  men  back-shot  the  bolt  and  opened 
the  doors,  and  the  boy  Setanta  stepped  in  out 
of  the  night.  He  was  very  pale.  His  scarlet 
mantle  was  in  rags  and  trailing,  and  his  linen 
tunic  beneath  and  his  white  knees  red  with 
blood,  which  ran  down  his  legs  and  over  his  bare 
feet.  He  made  a  reverence,  as  he  had  been 
taught,  to  the  man  of  the  house  and  to  his  people, 
and  went  backwards  to  the  upper  end  of  the 
chamber.  The  Ultonians  ran  to  meet  him,  but 
Fergus  Mac  Roy  was  the  first,  and  he  took 
Setanta  upon  his  mighty  shoulder  and  bore 
him  along  and  set  him  down  at  the  table  between 
himself  and  the  King. 

*'  Did  the  dog  come  against  thee  ?  "  said  Culain. 


SETANTA  AND  THE  SMITH  S  DOG   ^    55 


,-^ 


"  Truly  he  came  against  me/'  answered  the 
boy. 

"  And  art  thou  hurt  ?  "  cried  the  smith. 

*'  No,    indeed,"    answered   Setanta,    "  but    I 
think  he  is." 

At  that  moment  a  party  of  the  smith's  people 
entered  the  dun  bearing  between  them  the 
carcass  of  the  dog  from  whose  mouth  and  white 
crooked  fangs  the  blood  was  gushing  in  red 
torrents  ;  and  they  showed  Culain  how  the  skull 
of  the  dog  and  his  ribs  had  been  broken  in  pieces 
by  some  mighty  blow,  and  his  backbone  also  in 
divers  places.  Also  they  said  :  "  One  of  the  / 
great  brazen  pillars  which  stand  at  the  bridge  j 
head  is  bent  awry,  and  the  clean  bronze  defiled  ' 
with  blood,  and  it  was  at  the  foot  of  that  pillar 
we  found  the  dog."  So  saying,  they  laid  the 
body  upon  the  heather  in  front  of  Culain's  high 
seat,  that  it  might  be  full  in  his  eye,  and  when 
they  did  so  and  again  sat  down,  there  was  a 
great  silence  in  the  chamber. 


CHAPTER  VIII 

SETANTA,   THE   PEACE-MAKER 

"  The  swine-herd'  of  Bove  Derg,  son  of  the  Dagda, 
The  feasts  to  which  he  came  used  to  end  in  blood." 

Gaei,ic  Bard. 

CuLAiN  sat  silent  for  a  long  time  looking  out 
before  him  with  eyes  like  iron,  and  when  at  last 
he  spoke  his  voice  was  charged  with  wrath  and 
sorrow. 

"  O  Concobar,"  he  said,  "  and  you,  the  rest, 
nobles  of  the  children  of  Rury.  You  are  my 
guests  to-night,  wherefore  it  is  not  lawful  that 
I  should  take  vengeance  upon  you  for  the  killing 
of  my  brave  and  faithful  hound,  who  was  a 
better  keeper  of  my  treasures  than  a  company  of 
hired  warriors.  Truly  he  cost  me  nothing  but 
his  daily  allowance  of  meat,  and  there  was  not 
his  equal  as  a  watcher  and  warder  in  the  world. 
An  eric,  therefore,  I  must  have.  Consult  now 
together  concerning  its  amount  and  let  the  eric 


*  One  of  the  minor  gods.     He  resembles  Mars  Sylvanus  of  the 
Romans  to  whom  swine  were  sacrificed. 

56 


BETANTA,   THE   PEACE-MAKER  57 

be  great  and  conspicuous,  for,  by  Orchil^  and  all 
the  gods  who  rule  beneath  the  earth,  a  small 
eric  I  will  not  accept." 

Concobar  answered  straight,  "  Thou  shalt  not 
get  from  me  or  from  the  Ultonians  any  eric, 
small  or  great.  My  nephew  slew  the  beast  in 
fair  fight,  defending  his  life  against  an  aggressor. 
But  I  will  say  something  else,  proud  smith,  and 
little  it  recks  me  whether  it  is  pleasing  to  thee 
or  not.  Had  thy  wolf  slain  my  nephew  not  one 
of  you  would  have  left  this  dun  alive,  and  of 
your  famous  city  of  artificers  I  would  have  made 
a  smoking  heap." 

The  Ultonians  fiercely  applauded  that  speech, 
declaring  that  the  smiths  should  get  no  eric,  great 
or  small,  for  the  death  of  their  monster.  The 
smiths  thereupon  armed  themselves  with  their 
hammers,  and  tongs,  and  fire-poles,  and  great 
bars  of  unwrought  brass,  and  Culain  himself 
seized  an  anvil  withal  to  lay  waste  the  ranks 
of  the  Red  Branch.  The  Ultonians  on  their 
side  ran  to  the  walls  and  plucked  down  their 
spears  from  the  pegs,  and  they  raised  their 
shields  and  balanced  their  long  spears,  and 
swords  flashed  and  screeched  as  they  rushed  to 
light  out  of  the  scabbards,  and  the  vast  chamber 

*  The  queen  ol  the  infernal  regions. 


58  THE   COMING   OF  CUCULAIN 

glittered  with  shaking  bronze  and  shone  with 
the  eyeballs  of  angry  men,  and  rang  with  shouts 
of  defiance  and  quick  fierce  words  of  command. 
For  the  Red  Branch  embattled  themselves  on 
one  side  of  the  chamber  and  the  smiths  upon 
the  other,  burning  with  unquenchable  wrath, 
earth-born.  The  vast  and  high  dome  re-echoing 
rang  with  the  clear  terrible  cries  of  the  Ultonians 
and  the  roar  of  the  children  of  the  gloomy  Orchil, 
and,  far  away,  the  magic  shield  moaned  at  Emain 
Macha,  and  the  waves  of  the  ocean  sent  forth  a 
cry,  for  the  peril  of  death  and  of  shortness  of  life 
were  around  Concobar  in  that  hour.  And, 
though  the  doors  of  thick  oak,  brass-bound,  were 
shut  and  barred,  there  came  a  man  into  the 
assembly,  and  he  was  not  seen.  He  was  red  all 
over,  both  flesh  and  raiment,  as  if  he  had  been 
plunged  in  a  bath  of  blood.  His  countenance 
was  distraught  and  his  eyes  like  those  of  an 
insane  man,  and  sparks  flew  from  them  like 
sparks  from  a  smith's  stithy  when  he  mightily 
hammers  iron  plucked  white  from  the  furnace. 
Smoke  and  fire  came  from  his  mouth.  He  held 
in  his  hand  a  long  boar-yard.  The  likeness  of  a 
boar  bounded  after  him.  He  traversed  the 
vast  chamber  with  the  velocity  of  lightning, 
and   with   his    boar-yard    beat    such   as  were 


SETANTA,   THE   PEACE-MAKER  -59 

not  already  drunk  with  wrath  and  battle- 
fury,    and   shot    insane   fire   into    their   souls.  ^ 

Then  indeed  it  wanted  little,  not  the  space  of 
time  during  which  a  man  might  count  ten,  for 
the  beginning  of  a  murder  grim  and  great  as  any 
renowned  in  the  world's  chronicles,  and  it  is  the 
opinion  of  the  learned  that,  in  spite  of  all  their 
valour  and  beautiful  weapons,  the  artificers 
would  then  and  there  have  made  a  bloody  end  of 
the  Red  Branch  had  the  battle  gone  forward. 
But  at  this  moment,  ere  the  first  missile  was 
hurled  on  either  side,  the  boy  Setanta  sprang 
into  the  midst,  into  the  middle  space  which 
separated  the  enraged  men,  and  cried  aloud,  with 
a  clear  high  voice  that  rang  distinct  above  the 
tumult — 

"  O  Culain,  forbear  to  hurl,  and  restrain  thy 
people,  and  you  the  Ultonians,  my  kinsmen, 
delay  to  shoot.  To  thee,  O  chief  smith,  and  thy 
great-hearted  artificers  I  will  myself  pay  no  un- 
worthy eric  for  the  death  of  thy  brave  and 
faithful  hound.  For  verily  I  will  myself  take 
thy  dog's  place,  and  nightly  guard  thy  property, 
sleepless  as  he  was,  and  I.  will  continue  to  do 
so  till  a  hound  as  trusty  and  valiant  as  the  hound 

^  This  was  the  demon  referred  to  in  the  lines  at  the  head  of  the 
chapter. 


60  THE   COMING   OF  CUCULAIN 

whom  I  slew  is  procured  for  thee  to  take  his 
place,  and  to  relieve  me  of  that  duty.  Truly  I 
slew  not  thy  hound  in  any  wantonness  of  superior 
strength,  but  only  in  the  defence  of  my  own  life, 
which  is  not  mine  but  my  King's.  Three  times 
he  leaped  upon  me  with  white  fangs  bared  and 
eyes  red  with  murder,  and  three  times  I  cast  him 
off,  but  when  the  fourth  time  he  rushed  upon  me 
like  a  storm,  and  when  with  great  difficulty  I 
had  balked  him  on  that  occasion  also,  then  I 
took  him  by  the  throat  and  by  his  legs  and 
flung  him  against  one  of  the  brazen  pillars  withal 
to  make  him  stupid.  And  truly  it  was  not  my 
intention  to  kill  him  and  I  am  sorry  that  he  is 
dead,  seeing  that  he  was  so  faithful  and  so  brave, 
and  so  dear  to  thee  whom  I  have  always 
honoured,  even  when  I  was  a  child  at  Dun 
Dalgan,  and  whom,  with  thy  marvel-working 
craftsman,  I  have  for  a  long  time  eagerly  desired 
to  see.  And  I  thought  that  our  meeting,  when- 
soever it  might  be,  would  be  other  than  this  and 
more  friendly." 

As  he  went  on  speaking  the  fierce  brows  of  the 
smith  relaxed,  and  first  he  regarded  the  lad  with 
pity,  being  so  young  and  fair,  and  then  with  ad- 
miration for  his  bravery.  Also  he  thought  of  his 
own  boyish  days,  and  as  he  did  so  a  torrent  of 


SETANTA,   THE   PEACE-MAKER  6l 

kindly  affection  and  love  poured  from  his  breast 
towards  the  boy,  yea,  though  he  saw  him  standing 
before  him  with  the  blood  of  his  faithful  hound 
gilding  his  linen  lena  and  his  white  limbs.  Yet, 
indeed,  it  was  not  the  hound's  blood  which  was 
on  the  boy,  but  his  own,  so  cruelly  had  the  beast 
torn  him  with  his  long  and  strong  and  sharp 
claws. 

"  That  proposal  is  pleasing  to  me,"  he  said, 
"  and  I  will  accept  the  eric,  which  is  distinguished 
and  conspicuous  and  worthy  of  my  greatness 
and  of  my  name  and  reputation  amongst  the 
Gael.  Why  should  a  man  be  angry  for  ever 
when  he  who  did  the  wrong  offers  due  repara- 
tion ?  "  Therewith  over  his  left  shoulder  he 
flung  the  mighty  anvil  into  the  dark  end  of  the 
vast  chamber  among  the  furnaces,  at  the  sound 
of  whose  falling  the  solid  earth  shook.  On  the 
other  hand  Concobar  rejoiced  at  this  happy 
termination  of  the  quarrel,  for  well  he  knew  the 
might  of  those  huge  children  of  the  gloomy  Orchil. 
He  perceived,  too,  that  he  could  with  safety 
entrust  the  keeping  of  the  lad  to  those  people, 
for  he  saw  the  smith's  countenance  when  it 
changed,  and  he  knew  that  among  those  artifi- 
cers there  was  no  guile. 

"  It  is  pleasing  to  me,  too,"  he  said,  "  and  I 


62  THE   COMING   OF  CUCULAIN 

will  be  myself  the  lad's  security  for  the  per- 
formance of  his  promise." 

"  Nay,  I  want  no  security,"  answered  the 
smith.  "  The  word  of  a  scion  of  the  Red  Branch 
is  security  enough  for  me." 

Thereafter  all  laid  aside  their  weapons  and 
their  wrath.  The  smiths  with  a  mighty  clatter- 
ing cast  their  tools  into  the  dark  end  of  the 
chamber,  and  the  Ultonians  hanged  theirs  upon 
the  walls,  and  the  feasting  and  pledging  and 
making  of  friendly  speeches  were  resumed. 
There  was  no  more  any  anger  anywhere,  but  a 
more  unobstructed  flow  of  mutual  good-will 
and  regard,  for  the  Ultonians  felt  no  more  a 
secret  inclination  to  laugh  at  the  dusky  artificers, 
and  the  smiths  no  longer  regarded  with  disdain 
the  beauty,  bravery,  and  splendour  of  the 
Ultonians. 

In  the  meantime  Setanta  had  returned  to  his 
place  between  the  King  and  Fergus  Mac  Roy. 
There  a  faintness  came  upon  him,  and  a  great 
horror  overshadowed  him  owing  to  his  battle 
with  the  dog,  for  indeed  it  was  no  common  dog, 
and  when  he  would  have  fallen,  owing  to  the 
faintness,  they  pushed  him  behind  them  so  that 
he  lay  at  full  length  upon  the  couch  unseen  by 
the  smiths.     Concobar  nodded  to  his  chief  Leech. 


SETANTA,  THE  PEACE-MAKER  63 

and  he  came  to  him  with  his  instruments  and 
salves  and  washes.  There  unobserved  he  washed 
.the  cruel  gashes  cut  by  the  hound's  claws,  and 
applied  salves  and  stitched  the  skin  over  the 
wounds,  and,  as  he  did  so,  in  a  low  voice  ho 
murmured  healing  songs  of  power. 

"  Where  is  the  boy  ?  "  said  Culain. 

"He  is  reposing  a  little,"  said  Concobar, 
"  after  his  battle  and  his  conflict." 

After  a  space  they  gave  Setanta  a  draught  of 
mighty  ale,  and  his  heart  revived  in  him  and  the 
colour  returned  to  his  cheeks  wherein  before  was 
the  pallor  of  death,  and  he  sat  up  again  in  his 
place,  slender  and  fair,  between  Concobar  and 
Fergus  Mac  Roy.  The  smiths  cried  out  a  friendly 
welcome  to  him  as  he  sat  up,  for  they  held  him 
now  to  be  their  foster-son,  and  Culain  himself 
stood  up  in  his  place  holding  in  both  hands  a 
great  mether^  of  ale,  and  he  drank  to  all  unborn 
and  immature  heroes,  naming  the  name  of 
Setanta,  son  of  Sualtam,  now  his  dear  foster-son, 
and  magnified  his  courage,  so  that  the  boy 
blushed  vehemently  and  his  eyelids  trembled 
and  drooped  ;  and  all  the  artificers  stood  up  too 
and  drank  to  their  foster-son,  wishing  him 
victory   and   success,    and   they   drained   their 

A  four-cornered  quadrangular  cup. 


64  tHE  COMING  OP  CUCtJLAlU 

goblets  and  dashed  them,  mouth  downwards, 
upon  the  brazen  tables,  so  that  the  clang  rever- 
berated over  UUa.  Setanta  thereupon  stood 
up  while  the  smiths  roared  a  welcome  to  their 
foster-son,  and  he  said  that  it  was  not  he  who  had 
gained  the  victory,  for  that  someone  invisible 
had  assisted  him  and  had  charged  him  with  a 
strength  not  his  own.  Then  he  faltered  in  his 
speech  and  said  again  that  he  would  be  a  faithful 
hound  in  the  service  of  the  artificers,  and  sat 
down.  The  smiths  at  that  time  would  not  have 
yielded  him  for  all  the  hounds  in  the  world. 

After  that  their  harpers  harped  for  them  and 
their  story-tellers  related  true  stories,  provoking 
laughter  and  weeping.  There  was  no  story  told 
that  was  not  true  in  the  age  of  the  heroes.  Then 
the  smiths  sang  one  of  their  songs  of  labour, 
though  it  needed  the  accompaniment  of  ringing 
mettle,  a  song  wild  and  strange,  and  the  Ulton- 
ians  clear  and  high  sang  all  together  with  open 
mouths  a  song  of  battle  and  triumph  and  of  the 
marching  home  to  Emain  Macha  with  victory ; 
and  so  they  spent  the  night,  till  Concobar 
said — 

"  O  Culain,  feasting  and  singing  are  good,  but 
slumber  is  good  also.  Dismiss  us  now  to  our 
rest  and  our  slumber,  for  we,  the  Red  Branch, 


SETANTA,   THE   PEACE-MAKER  65 

must  rise  betimes  in  the  morning,  having  our 
own  proper  work  to  perform  day  by  day  in 
Emain  Macha,  as  you  yours  in  your  industrious 
city." 

With  difficulty  were  the  smiths  persuaded  to 
3deld  to  that  request,  for  right  seldom  was  there 
a  feast  in  Dun  Culain,  and  the  unusual  pleasure 
and  joyful  sense  of  comradeship  and  social 
exaltation  were  very  pleasing  to  their  hearts. 

The  Ultonians  slept  that  night  in  the  smiths* 
hall  upon  resplendent  couches  which  had  been 
prepared  for  them,  and  early  in  the  morning, 
having  taken  a  friendly  leave  of  the  artificers, 
they  departed,  leaving  the  lad  behind  them 
asleep.  Setanta  remained  with  the  smiths  a  long 
time  after  that,  and  Culain  and  his  people  loved 
him  greatly  and  taught  him  many  things.  It 
was  owing  to  this  adventure  and  what  came  of  it 
that  Setanta  got  his  second  name,  viz.,  the 
Hound  of  Culain  or  Cu-Culain.  Under  that 
name  he  wrought  all  his  marvellous  deeds. 


CHAPTER  IX 

JHE  CHAMPION  AND  THE   KING 

"  Sing,  O  Muse,  the  destructive  wrath  of  Achilles,  son  of  Peleus, 
which  brought  countless  woes  upon  the  Achaeans." — HoMER. 

CoNCOBAR  Mac  Nessa  sat  one  day  in  his  high 
chair,  judging  the  Ultonians.  His  great  Council 
sat  before  him.  In  the  Champion's  throne  sat 
Fergus  Mac  Roy.  Before  the  high  King  his 
suitors  gave  testimony  and  his  brehons  pleaded, 
and  Concobai;  in  each  case  pronounced  judgment, 
clearly  and  intelligently,  briefly  and  concisely, 
with  learning  and  with  equity. 

"  Right  glad  am  I,  O  Concobar,"  said  Fergus, 
*'  that  thou  art  in  the.  King's  throne,  and  I  where 
I  sit.  Verily,  had  I  remained  in  that  chair 
of  honour  and  distress,  long  since  would  these 
historians  and  poets  and  subtle-minded  lawyers 
have  talked  and  rhymed  me  into  madness,  or 
into  my  grave." 

Concobar  made  answer — "  Dear  foster-father, 
the  high  gods  in  their  wisdom  have  fashioned  us 
each  man  to  illustrate  some  virtue.  To  thee  they 
have  given  strength,  courage,  and  magnanimity 

66 


THE   CHAMPION   AND  THE  KING  6/ 

above  all  others ;  and  to  me,  in  small  measure, 
the  vision  of  justice,  and  the  perception  of 
her  beautiful  laws.  A  man  can  only  excel  in 
what  he  loves,  and  verily  I  love  well  the 
known  laws  of  the  Ultonians." 

A  great  man  just  then  entered  the  hall.  His 
mantle  was  black.  In  the  breast  of  it,  instead  of 
a  brooch,  he  wore  an  iron  pin.  He  came  swiftly 
and  without  making  the  customary  reverences. 
His  face  was  pale,  and  his  garments  torn,  his 
dark-grey  tunic  stained  with  blood.  He  stood 
in  the  midst  and  cried — 

**  O  high  King  of  the  Ultonians,  and  you  the 
wise  men  and  sages  of  the  children  of  Rury,  to 
all  of  you  there  is  now  need  of  some  prudent 
resolution.  A  great  deed  has  been  done  in 
Ulla." 

"  What  is  that  ?  "  said  the  King. 

"  The  abduction  of  the  Beautiful  Woman  by 
Naysi,  son  of  Usna.  Verily,  she  is  taken  away 
and  may  not  be  recovered,  for  the  Clan  Usna 
came  last  night  with  a  great  company  to  the 
dun  and  they  stormed  it  in  their  might  and  their 
valour,  and  their  irresistible  fury,  and  they  have 
taken  away  Deirdre  in  their  swift  chariots,  and 
have  gone  eastwards  to  the  Muirnicht  with  intent 
to  cross  the  sea  northwards,  and  abide  henceforth 


68  THE  COMING   OF   CUCULAIN 

with  their  prize  in  the  land  of  the  Picts  and 
of  the  Albanah,  beyond  the  stormy  currents 
of  the  Moyle." 

Fergus  Mac  Roy,  when  he  heard  that  word, 
sat  up  with  eyes  bright-blazing  in  his  head. 
Dearer  to  him  than  all  the  rest  were  those  sons 
of  Usna,  namely — Naysi,  Anli,  and  Ardane,  and 
dearest  of  the  three  was  Naysi,  who  excelled  all 
the  youth  of  his  time  in  beauty,  valour,  and 
accomplishments. 

"  Bind  that  man,"  cried  Concobar.  His  voice 
rang  terribly  through  the  vast  chamber.  Truly 
it  sheared  through  men's  souls  hke  a  dividing 
sword. 

His  guards  took  the  man  and  bound  him. 
"  Lead  him  away  now,"  said  Concobar,  "  and 
stone  him  with  stones  even  to  the  parting  of 
body  with  soul." 

The  man  was  one  of  Deirdre's  guard. 

A  great  silence  fell  upon  the  assembly  after 
that  and  no  man  spoke,  only  they  looked  at  the 
King  and  then  again  at  the  Champion,  and,  as 
it  were,  questioned  one  another  silently  with  their 
eyes.  It  was  the  silence  behind  which  run  the 
Fomorh,  brazen-throated  and  clad  with  storm. 
Well  knew  those  wise  men  that  what  they  long 
apprehended  had  come  now  to  pass,  namely. 


THE  CHAMPION   AND  THE   KING  69 

the  fierce  and  tniceless  antagonism  of  the  King 
and  of  the  ex-King.  Well  they  knew  that 
Concobar  would  not  forgive  the  Clan  Usna,  and 
that  Fergus  Mac  Roy  would  not  permit  them 
to  be  punished.  Therefore,  great  and  mighty 
as  were  the  men,  yet  on  this  occasion  they  might 
be  likened  only  to  cattle  who  stand  aside  as- 
tonished when  two  fierce  bulls,  rending  the  earth 
as  they  come,  advance  against  each  other  for 
the  mastery  of  the  herd.  In  the  high  King's 
face  the  angry  blood  showed  as  two  crimson 
spots  one  on  either  cheek,  and  his  eyes,  harder 
than  steel,  sparkled  under  brows  more  rigid 
than  brass.  On  the  other  hand,  the  face  of  the 
Champion  darkened  as  the  sea  darkens  when  a 
black  squall  descends  suddenly  upon  its  sunny 
and  glittering  tides,  wrinkling  and  convulsing 
all  the  face  of  the  deep.  His  listlessness  and 
amiability  alike  went  out  of  him,  and  he  sat 
huge  and  erect  in  his  throne.  His  mighty  chest 
expanded  and  stood  out  like  a  shield,  and  the 
muscles  of  his  neck,  stronger  than  a  bull's,  be- 
came clear  and  distinct,  and  his  gathering  ire 
and  stern  resolution  rushed  stormfully  through 
his  nostrils.     The  King  first  spoke. 

"  To  the  man  who  has  broken  our  law  and 
abducted  the  child  of  ill  omen,  I  decree  death 


yO  THE   COMING   OF  CUCDLAIN 

by  the  sword  and  burial  with  the  three  throws  of 
dishonour,  and  if  taken  ahve,  then  death  by 
burning  with  the  same,  and  if  he  escapes  out  of 
Erin,  then  sentence  of  perpetual  banishment  and 
expatriation." 

"  He  shall  not  be  slain,  and  he  shall  not  be 
burned,  and  he  shall  not  be  exiled.  I  say  it, 
even  I,  Fergus,  son  of  the  Red  Rossa,  Champion 
of  the  North.  Let  the  man  who  will  gainsay  me 
show  himself  now  in  Emain  Macha.  Let  him 
bring  round  the  buckle  of  his  belt." 

His  eyes,  as  he  spoke,  were  like  flames  of  fire 
under  a  forehead  dark  crimson,  and  with  his 
clenched  fist  he  struck  the  brazen  table  before 
his  throne,  so  that  the  clang  and  roar  of  the 
quivering  bronze  sounded  through  all  the  borders 
of  Ulla. 

"  I  will  gainsay  thee,  O  Fergus,"  cried  the 
King,  "  I  am  the  guardian  and  the  executor  of 
the  laws  of  the  Ultonians,  and  those  laws  shall 
prevail  over  thee  and  over  all  men." 

"  All  laws  in  restraint  of  true  love  and  affection 
are  unjust,"  said  Fergus,  "  and  the  law  by  which 
Deirdre  was  consigned  to  virginity  was  the  un- 
righteous enactment  of  cold-hearted  and  un- 
righteous men." 


CHAPTER    X 

DEIRDRE 

"  Beautiful  the  beginning  of  love, 
A  man  and  a  woman  and  the  birds  of  Angus  above  them." 

Gaelic  Bard. 

The  birth  of  the  child  Deirdre,  daughter  of  the 
chief  poet  of  Ulla,  was  attended  with  a  great 
portent,  for  the  child  shrieked  from  the  mother's 
womb.  Cathvah  and  the  Druids  were  consulted 
concerning  that  omen.  They  addressed  them- 
selves to  their  art  of  divination,  and  having  con- 
sulted their  oracles  and  gods  and  familiar  spirits, 
they  gave  a  clear  counsel  to  the  Ultonians. 

"  This  child,"  they  said,  "  will  become  a 
woman,  in  beauty  surpassing  all  the  women  who 
have  ever  been  born  or  will  be  born.  Her  union 
with  a  man  will  be  a  cause  of  great  sorrow  to  the 
Ultonians.  Let  her,  therefore,  be  exposed  after 
birth  ;  or,  if  you  would  not  slay  the  Arch- 
Poet's  only  child,  let  her  be  sternly  immured  ; 
let  her  be  reared  to  womanhood  in  utter  and 
complete  and  inviolable  solitude,  and  live  and 
die  in  her  virginity." 

71 


72  THE   COMING   OF  CUCULAIN 

The  Ultonians  determined  that  the  child 
should  live  and  be  immured.  These  things  took 
place  in  the  reign  of  Factna  the  Righteous,  father 
of  Concobar.  When  the  child  was  born  she  was 
called  Deirdre.  The  Ultonians  appointed  for  her 
a  nurse  and  tutoress  named  Levarcam.  They 
built  for  her  and  for  the  nurse  a  strong  dun  in 
a  remote  forest  and  set  a  ward  there,  and  they 
made  a  solemn  law  enjoining  perpetual  virginity 
on  the  child  of  ill  omen,  and  the  Druids  shed  a 
zone  of  terror  round  the  dun. 

Concobar  Mac  Nessa  in  the  wide  circuit  of  his 
thoughts  consulted  always  for  the  inviolability 
of  that  law,  and  the  stern  maintenance  of  the 
watching  and  warding. 

Unseen  and  unobserved,  forgotten  by  all  save 
the  wise  elders  of  the  Ultonians  and  by  Concobar 
their  King,  whose  thoughts  ranged  on  all  sides 
devising  good  for  the  Red  Branch,  the  child 
Deirdre  grew  to  be  a  maiden.  Though  her 
beauty  was  extraordinary,  yet  her  mind  was  as 
beautiful  as  her  form,  so  that  the  Lady  Levarcam 
loved  her  exceedingly. 

One  day  when  the  first  flush  of  early  woman- 
hood came  upon  the  maiden,  she  said  to  her 
tutoress  as  they  sat  together  and  conversed — 

"  Are  all  menUke  those  our  guards  who  defend 


DEIBDR^  73 

US  against  savage  beasts  and  the  merciless 
Fomorians,  dear  Levarcam  ?  " 

"  Those  our  guards  are  true  and  brave  men," 
said  Levarcam. 

"  Surely  they  are,"  said  the  girl,  "  and  we  lack 
no  courtesy  and  due  attention  at  their  hands, 
but  dear  foster-mother,  my  question  is  not 
answered.  Maybe  it  is  not  to  be  answered  and 
that  I  am  curious  overmuch.  Are  all  men  grim, 
grave,  and  austere,  wearing  rugged  countenances 
scored  with  ancient  wounds,  and  bearing  each 
man  upon  his  shoulders  the  weight  of  some 
fearful  responsibility  ?  Are  all  men  like  that, 
dear  Levarcam  ?  " 

"  Nay,  indeed,"  said  the  other,  "  there  are 
youths  too,  gracious,  and  gay,  and  beautiful, 
as  well  as  grave  men  such  as  these." 

They  sat  together  in  their  sunny  grianan,^ 
embroidering  while  they  conversed.  It  was 
early  morning  and  the  air  was  full  of  the  noises 
and  odours  of  sweet  spring-time. 

"  I  know  that  now,"  said  the  maiden,  "  which 
I  only  guessed  before,  for  waking  or  sleeping 
I  have  dreamed  of  a  youth  who  was  as  unlike 


^  A  derivative  from  Grian,  the  sun.  The  grianan  was  an  upper 
chamber,  more  elegantly  furnished  than  the  hall,  usually  with  large 
windows  and  therefore  well  lit  and  reserved  for  the  use  of  women. 


'74  THE  COMING   OF  CUCULAIN 

these  men  as  the  rose-tree  with  its  roses  is  unhke 
the  rugged  oak-tree  or  the  wrinkled  pine  that 
has  wrestled  with  a  thousand  storms.  I  would 
wish  to  have  him  for  a  playfellow  and  pleasant 
acquaintance.  Of  maidens,  too,  such  as  myself 
I  have  dreamed,  yet  they  do  not  appear  to  me 
to  be  so  alluring  or  so  amiable  as  that  youth." 

"  Describe  him  more  particularly,"  said 
Levarcam.  *'  Tell  me  his  tokens  one  by  one 
that  I  may  know." 

"  He  is  tall  and  strong  but  very  graceful  in  all 
his  motions  ;  and  of  speech  and  behaviour  both 
gay  and  gracious.  He  is  white  and  ruddy, 
whiter  than  snow  and  ruddier  than  the  rose  or 
the  fox-glove,  where  the  heroic  blood  burns 
bright  in  his  comely  cheeks.  His  eyes  are  blue- 
black  under  fine  and  even  brows  and  his  hair 
is  a  wonder,  so  dense  is  it,  so  lustrous  and  so 
curling,  blacker  than  the  crow's  wing,  more 
shining  than  the  bright  armour  of  the  chaffer. 
His  body  is  broad  above  and  narrow  below, 
strong  to  withstand  and  agile  to  pursue.  His 
limbs  long  and  beautifully  proportioned ;  his 
hands  and  feet  likewise,  and  his  step  elastic.. 
Smiles  seldom  leave  his  eyes  and  lips,  and  his. 
mouth  is  a  fountain  of  sweet  speech.  O  that  I 
were  acquainted  with  him  and  he  with  me  ? 


DEIRDRE  75 

I  think  we  should  be  happy  in  each  other's 
company.  I  think  I  could  love  him  as  well  as 
I  do  thee,  dear  foster-mother."  f' 

As  she  spoke,  Deirdre  blushed,  and  first  she 
stooped  down  over  her  work  and  then  put 
before  her  face  and  eyes  her  two  beautiful  hands, 
rose-white,  with  long  delicate  nails  pink-flushed 
and  transparent ;  and  tears,  clearer  than  dew- 
drops,  gushed  between  her  fingers  and  fell  in 
bright  showers  upon  the  embroidery.  Then  she 
arose  and  flung  her  soft  white  arms  around 
Levarcam  and  wept  on  her  bosom. 

"  There  is  one  youth  only  amongst  the  Red 
Branch,"  said  Levarcam,  "  who  answers  to  that 
description,  namely  ISTaysi,  the  son  of  Usna,  who 
is  the  battle-prop  of  the  Ultonians  and  the 
clear-shining  torch  of  their  valour,  and  what  god 
or  druid  or  power  hath  set  that  vision  before  thy 
mind,  I  cannot  tell." 

"  Would  that  I  could  see  him  with  eyes  and 
have  speech  with  him,"  answered  the  girl.  "  If 
but  once  he  smiled  upon  me  and  I  heard  the 
sweet  words  flow  from  his  mouth  which  is 
beyond  price,  then  gladly  would  I  die  !  " 

"  Thou  shalt  both  see  him  and  have  speech 
with  him,  O  best,  sweetest,  dearest,  and  loveliest 
of  all  maidens.     Truly  I  will  bring  him  to  thee 


y6  THE   COMING   OF  CUCULAIN 

and  thee  to  him,  for  there  is  with  me  power 
beyond  the  wont  of  women." 

Now  Levarcam  was  a  mighty  Druidess 
amongst  the  Ultonians.  So  the  lady  in  whom 
they  trusted  forgot  the  ancient  prophecies  and 
the  stern  commands  of  the  Red  Branch  and  of 
their  King,  owing  to  the  great  love  which  she  bore 
to  the  maiden  and  the  great  compassion  which 
grew  upon  her  day  by  day,  as  she  observed  the 
life  of  the  solitary  girl  and  thought  of  the  cruel 
law  to  which  all  her  youth  and  beauty  and  wealth 
of  sweet  love  beyond  all  the  jewels  of  the 
world  were  thus  barbarously  sacrificed  by 
the  Ultonians  in  obedience  to  soothsayers  and 
Druids. 

Naysi,  son  of  Usna,  once  in  a  hunting  became 
separated  from  his  companions.  He  wandered 
far  in  that  forest,  seeking  some  one  who  should 
direct  him  upon  his  way.  Oftentimes  he  raised 
his  voice,  but  there  was  no  answer.  Such  were 
his  beauty,  his  grace,  and  his  stature,  that  he 
seemed  more  like  a  god  than  a  man,  and  such 
another  as  Angus  Ogue,  son  of  Dagda,^  whose 
fairy  palace  is  on  the  margin  of  the  Boyne. 


^  Angus  Ogue  was  the  god  of  youth  and  beauty,  son  of  the  Dagda 
who  seems  to  have  been  the  genius  of  earth  and  its  fertility  or  perhaps 
the  Zeus  of  our  Gaelic  mythology. 


DEIRDEE  'jy 

His  head  and  his  feet  were  bare.  His  short 
hunting-cloak  was  dark-red  with  flowery  devices 
along  the  edge.  On  his  breast  he  wore  a  brooch 
of  gold  bronze  ;  carbuncles  and  precious  stones 
were  set  in  the  bronze,  and  it  was  carved  all  over 
with  many  spiral  devices.  His  shirt  below  the 
mantle  was  coloured  like  the  tassels  of  the  willow- 
trees.  His  hair  was  fastened  behind  with  a  clasp 
and  an  apple  of  red  gold,  and  that  apple  lay 
below  the  blades  of  his  ample  shoulders.  In  one 
hand  he  bore  a  broken  leash  of  red  bronze,  and 
in  the  other  two  hunting  spears  with  blades  of 
flashing  findruiney  and  the  hafts  were  long, 
•slender,  and  shining.  By  his  thigh  hung  a  short 
sword  in  a  sheath  of  red  yew  and  beside  it  the 
polished  and  nigh  transparent  horn  of  t]|ie  Urus, 
suspended  in  a  baldrick  of  knitted  thread  .of 
bronze.  The  grass  stood  erect  from  the  pressure 
of  his  light  feet.  His  manly  face  had  not  yet 
known  the  razor  ;  only  the  first  soft  down  of 
budding  manhood  was  seen  there.  His  coun- 
tenance was  pure  and  joyous  with  bright 
beaming  eyes,  and  his  complexion  red  and  white 
and  of  a  brilliancy  beyond  words.  In  his  heart 
was  no  guile,  only  indomitable  valour  and  truth 
and  loyalty  and  sweet  affection.  He  had  never 
known  woman  save  in  the  way  of  courtesy.    The 


78  THE  COMING  OP  CUCULAIN 

very  trees  and  rocks  and  stones  seemed  to  watch 
him  as  he  passed. 

Then  suddenly  and  unawares  an  ice-cold  air 
struck  chill  into  his  inmost  being,  the  bright  earth 
was  obscured  and  the  sun  grew  dark  in  the 
heavens  and  menacing  voices  were  heard  and 
horrid  forms  of  evil,  monstrous,  not  to  be  des- 
cribed, came  against  him,  and  they  bade  him 
return  as  he  had  come  or  they  would  tear  him 
limb  from  limb  in  that  forest.  Yet  the  son  of 
Usna  was  by  no  means  dismayed,  only  he  flushed 
with  wrath  and  scorn  and  he  drew  his  sword  and 
went  on  against  the  phantoms.  In  truth  Naysi 
was  at  that  moment  passing  through  the  zone 
of  terror  which  the  Ultonian  Druids  had  shed 
around  the  dun  where  Deirdre  was  immured. 
The  phantoms  gave  way  before  him  and  Naysi 
passed  beyond  the  zone.  "  Surely,"  he  said, 
"  there  is  some  chief  jewel  of  the  jewels  of  the 
world  preserved  in  this  place." 

He  came  to  an  opening  in  the  forest.  Beyond 
it  there  was  a  great  space  which  was  cleared  and 
girt  all  round  by  trees.  There  was  a  dun  in  its 
midst.  Scarlet  and  white  were  the  walls  of  that 
dun.  There  was  a  watch-tower  on  one  side  of 
the  dun  and  a  man  there  sitting  in  the  watch- 
man's seat ;  a  grianan  on  the  other  with  windows 


DEIRDR^ 


79 


of  glass.  The  roof  of  the  dun  was  covered  all 
over  with  feathers  of  birds  of  various  hues,  and 
shone  with  a  hundred  colours.  The  doorway- 
was  the  narrowest  which  Naysi  had  ever  seen. 
The  door  pillars  were  of  red  yew  curiously  carved, 
having  feet  of  bronze  and  capitals  of  carved 
silver,  and  the  lintel  above  was  a  straight  bar 
of  pure  silver.  A  knotted  band  or  thickening 
ran  round  the  walls  of  the  dun  like  a  variegated 
zone,  for  the  colours  of  it  were  many  and  each 
different  from  the  colours  on  the  walls.  In  the 
world  there  was  no  such  prison  as  there  was  no 
such  captive  as  that  prison  held.  Armed  men 
of  huge  stature  and  terrible  aspect  went  round 
the  dun.  Their  habiliments  were  black,  their 
weapons  without  ornament,  the  pins  of  their 
mantles  were  of  iron.  With  each  company  went 
a  slinger  having  his  sling  bent,  an  iron  bolt 
in  the  sling,  and  his  thumb  in  the  string-loop, 
men  who  never  missed  their  mark  and  never 
struck  aught,  whether  man  or  beast,  that  they  did 
not  slay.  Great  hounds  such  as  were  not  known 
amongst  the  Ultonians  went  with  those  men. 
They  were  grey  above  and  tawny  beneath,  as 
large  as  wild  oxen  after  the  growth  of  one  year. 
They  were  quick  of  sight  and  scent,  fiercer  than 
dragons  and  swifter  than  eagles ;    they  were 


80  THE  COMING   OF  CUCULAIN 

not  quick  of  sight  and  scent  to-day.  The  Lady 
Levarcam  had  great  power.  In  and  around 
tlaat  dun  were  three  hundred  men  of  war, 
foreigners,  picked  men  of  the  great  fighting 
tribes  of  Banba.  Such  was  the  decree  of  the 
Ultonians  and  their  wise  King,  so  greatly  did 
they  fear  concerning  those  prophecies  and  omens 
and  concerning  the  child  who  in  Emain  Macha 
shrieked  out  of  her  mother's  womb.  Naysi 
regarded  the  dun  with  wonder  and  amazement, 
and  with  amazement  the  astonishing  rigour  of 
the  watch  and  ward  which  were  kept  there,  and 
the  more  he  looked  the  more  he  wondered.  It 
seemed  to  the  hunter  that  he  had  chanced  upon 
one  of  the  abodes  of  the  enchanted  races  of  Erin, 
namely  the  Tuatha  De  Dana  or  the  Fomorians, 
whom  the  sons  of  Milesius  by  their  might  had 
driven  into  the  mountains  and  unfrequented 
places  and  who,  now  immortal  and  invisible, 
and  possessing  great  druidic  power,  were  wor- 
shipped as  gods  by  the  Gael.  He  knew  he  was 
in  great  peril,  but  his  stout  heart  did  not  fail  ; 
he  was  resolved  to  see  this  adventure  to  an  end. 

As  he  was  about  to  step  out  into  the  open  two 
women  came  from  the  door  of  the  grianan.  One 
of  them  was  old  ;  she  leaned  upon  her  companion 
and  in  her  right  hand  held  a  long  white  wand 


DEIRDEE  8l 

squared  save  in  the  middle  where  it  was  rounded 
for  the  hand  grip,  very  long,  unornamented,  and 
unshod  at  either  extremity.  Naysi  paid  slight 
attention  to  her,  though,  as  she  was  the  first  to 
come  forth,  he  observed  these  things.  The  other 
was  young,  tall,  slender,  and  lissom,  her  raiment 
costly  and  splendid  like  a  high  queen's  on  some 
solemn  day,  and  like  a  queen's  her  behaviour 
and  her  pacing  over  the  flowery  lawn.  Never 
had  that  hunter  seen  such  a  form,  so  proudly 
modest  and  virginal,  such  sweetness,  grace,  and 
majesty  of  bearing.  Presently,  having  passed 
a  company  of  the  guards,  she  flung  back  the 
white,  half-transparent  veil  that  concealed  her 
face.  Then  the  sudden  radiance  was  like  the 
coming  unlooked  for  out  of  a  white  cloud  of  that 
very  bright  star  which  shines  on  the  edge  of 
night  and  morning.  All  things  were  trans- 
figured in  her  light.  Before  her  the  grass  grew 
greener  and  more  glittering  and  rare  flowers 
started  in  her  way.  A  silver  basket  of  most 
delicate  craftsmanship,  the  work  of  some  cunning 
cerd,  was  on  her  right  arm.  It  shone  clear  and 
sparkling  against  her  mantle  which  was  exceed- 
ingly lustrous,  many  times  folded,  darkly 
crimson,  and  of  substance  unknown.  She 
towered  above  her  aged  companion,  straight  as  a 


82  THE  COMING  OP  CUCULAIN 

pillar  of  red  yew  in  a  king's  house.  So,  un- 
witting, jocund,  and  innocent,  fresh  and  pure 
as  the  morning,  she  paced  over  the  green  lawn, 
going  in  the  direction  of  that  youth,  even  Naysi, 
son  of  Usna  the  Ultonian.  Naysi's  loudly 
beating  heart  fell  silent  when  he  saw  how  she 
came  straight  towards  him  ;  he  retreated  into 
the  forest,  so  amazing  and  so  confounding  was 
the  radiance  of  that  beauty.  A  company  of  those 
grim  warders,  silent  and  watchful,  followed 
close  upon  the  women.  As  they  went  they  slip- 
ped the  muzzles  from  the  mouths  of  their  dogs 
and  lead  them  forward  leashed.  The  coun- 
tenances of  the  men  shewed  displeasure.  From 
the  tower  the  watchman  cried  aloud  words 
in  an  unknown  tongue,  hoarse,  barbaric  accents 
charged  with  energy  and  strong  meaning.  His 
voice  rang  terribly  in  the  hollows  of  the  forest. 
There  was  a  counter  challenge  in  the  forest 
repeated  many  times,  the  voices  of  men  mingled 
with  the  baying  of  hounds.  There  was  a  ring 
of  sentinels  and  dogs  far  out  in  the  forest.  The 
son  of  Usna  had  gone  through  the  ring.  For 
twice  seven  years  and  one  that  astonishing 
watch  and  ward  had  been  maintained  day  and 
night  without  relaxation  or  abatement.  When 
they  came  to  the  edge  of  the  forest  Levarcam 


DEIRDRE  83 

addressed  the  commander  of  that  company. 
She  said,  "  The  Lady  Deirdre  would  be  alone 
with  me  in  the  forest  for  a  little  space  to  gather 
flowers  and  listen  to  the  music  of  the  birds 
and  the  stream,  relieved,  if  but  for  one  moment, 
of  this  watching  and  warding." 

The  man  answered  not  a  word.  He  was  of 
the  Gamanrdians,  dwellers  by  the  Sue,  which 
feeds  the  great  Western  River ;  ^  his  people  were 
of  the  Clan  Dega  in  the  south,  and  of  the  chil- 
dren of  Orc^  from  the  Isles  of  Ore  in  the  frozen 
seas.3  The  blood  of  the  Fomoroh  was  in  those 
men.  The  women  went  on,  and  that  grim  com- 
pany followed,  keeping  close  behind.  When 
they  gained  the  first  cover  of  the  trees  Levarcam 
turned  round  and  stretched  over  them  her  wand. 
They  stood  motionless,  both  men  and  dogs. 
Then  the  women  went  forward,  and  alone. 

"  Fill  thy  basket  now  with  forest  flowers,  O 
sweetest,  and  dearest,  and  fairest  of  all  foster- 
children,  and  listen  to  the  songs  of  the  birds  and 
the  music  of  the  rill.  Cull  thy  flowers,  darling 
girl,  and  cull  the  flower  of  thy  youth,  the  flower 


»  The  Shannon. 

*  In  scriptural  language  "of  the  seed  of  the  giants,"  huge,  simple- 
hearted  and  simple-minded  men,  who  could  obey  orders  and  ask  no 
questions. 

3  The  Orkney  Islands. 


84  THE   COMING   OF  CUCULAIN 

that  grows  but  once  for  all  like  thee,  the  flower 
whose  glory  puts  high  heaven  to  shame,  and 
whose  odour  makes  mad  the  most  wise." 

**  Where  shall  I  gather  that  flower,  O  gentlest 
and  most  amiable  of  foster-mothers  ?  Is  it  in 
the  glade  or  the  thicket,  or  on  the  margent  of  the 
rill  ? 

"  It  is  not  to  be  found  by  seeking,  O  fairest  of 
all  maidens.  Gather  it  when  thou  meetest  with 
it  in  the  way.  Wear  it  in  thy  heart,  be  the  end 
what  it  may.  Verily  thou  wilt  not  mistake  any 
other  flower  for  that  flower." 

"  I  know  not  thy  meaning,  O  wise  and  many- 
counselled  woman,  but  there  is  fear  upon  me, 
and  trembling,  and  my  knees  quake  at  thy 
strange  words.  Now,  if  the  whole  world  were 
swallowed  up  I  should  not  be  surprised.  Surely 
the  end  of  the  world  is  very  nigh." 

"  It  is  the  end  of  the  world  and  the  beginning 
of  the  world  ;  and  the  end  of  life  and  the  begin- 
ning of  life  ;  and  death  and  life  in  one,  and  death 
and  life  will  soon  be  the  same  to  thee,  O  Deirdre !" 

"  There  is  amazement  upon  me,  and  terror,  O 
my  foster-mother,  on  account  of  thy  words,  and 
on  account  of  the  gathering  of  this  flower.  Let 
us  return  to  the  dun.  Terrible  to  me  are  the 
hollow-sounding  ways  of  the  unknown  forest." 


DEIEDRB  85 

"  Fear  not  the  unknown  forest,  O  Deirdre. 
Leave  the  known  and  the  famihar  now  that  thy 
time  has  come.  Go  on.  y\ccompUsh  thy  des- 
tiny. It  is  vain  to  strive  against  fate  and  the 
pre-ordained  designs  of  the  high  gods  of  Erin. 
Truly  I  have  failed  in  my  trust.  I  see  great 
wrath  in  Emain  Macha.  I  see  the  Red  Branch 
tossed  in  storms,  and  a  mighty  riving  and  rending 
and  scattering  abroad,  and  dismal  conflagrations, 
and  the  blood  of  heroes  falling  like  rain,  and  I 
hear  the  croaking  of  Byves.^  Truly  I  have 
proved  a  brittle  prop  to  the  Ultonians,  but  some 
power  beyond  my  own  drives  me  on." 

*'  What  wild  words  are  these,  O  wisest  of 
women,  and  what  this  rending  and  scattering 
abroad,  and  showers  of  blood  and  croaking  of 
Byves  because  I  cull  a  flower  in  the  forest  ?  " 

"  Nay,  it  is  nothing.  Have  peace  and  joy 
while  thou  canst,  sweet  Deirdre.  Thus  I  lay 
my  wand  upon  thy  bosom  and  enjoin  peace  !  " 

*'  Thou  art  weary,  dear  foster-mother.  Rest 
thee  here  now  a  little  space,  while  I  go  and 
gather  forest  flowers.  They  are  sweeter  than 
those  that  grow  in  my  garden.  O,  right  glad 
am  I  to  be  alone  in  the  forest,  relieved  from  the 


'  Badb,  pronounced  Byve,  was  primarily  the  scald-crow  or  carrion- 
crow,  secondarily  a  Battle- Fury. 


86  THE  COMING   OP  CUCULAIN 

observation  of  those  grim-visaged  sentinels,  to 
stray  solitary  in  the  dim  mysterious  forest,  and 
to  think  my  own  thoughts  there,  and  dream  my 
dreams,  and  recall  that  vision  which  I  have  seen. 
O  Naysi,  son  of  Usna,  sweeter  than  harps  is  the 
mere  sound  of  thy  name,  O  Ultonian  !  " 

Deirdre  after  that  went  forward  alone  into  the 
forest. 

Naysi,  when  he  had  started  back  into  the  forest 
stood  still  for  a  long  time  in  his  retreat.  It  was 
the  hollow  of  a  tall  rock  beside  a  falling  stream 
of  water,  all  flowing  snow  or  transparent  crystal. 
Holly  trees  and  quicken  trees  grew  from  its  crest, 
and  long  twines  of  ivy  fell  down  before  like  green 
torrents.  Behind  them  he  concealed  himself, 
when  he  heard  the  cries  and  the  challengings  and 
the  baying  of  the  hounds.  Then  he  saw  the 
maiden  come  along  the  forest  glade  by  the  mar- 
gent  of  the  stream,  her  basket  filled  and  over- 
flowing with  flowers.  The  sentient  stream  sang 
loud  and  gay  to  greet  her  approaching,  with 
fluent  liquid  fingers  striking  more  joyously 
the  chords  of  his  stony  lyre.  Light  beyond  the 
sun  was  shed  through  the  glen  before  her.  Birds, 
the  brightest  of  plumage  and  sweetest  of  note 
of  all  the  birds  of  Banba,^  filled  the  air  with 

^  One  of  Ireland's  ancient  names. 


DEIRDElfi  87 

their  songs,  flying  behind  her  and  before  her, 
and  on  her  right  hand  and  on  her  left.  Through 
his  lattice  of  trailing  ivy  the  son  of  Usna  saw 
her.  Her  countenance  was  purer  and  clearer 
than  morning-dew  upon  the  rose  or  the  lily, 
and  the  rose  and  lily,  nay,  the  whiteness  of  the 
snow  of  one  night  and  the  redness  of  the  reddest 
rose,  were  there.  Her  eyes  were  blue-black 
under  eyebrows  black  and  fine,  but  her  clustering 
hair  was  bright  gold,  more  shining  than  the  gold 
which  boils  over  the  edge  of  the  refiner's  crucible. 
Her  forehead  was  free  from  all  harshness,  broad 
and  intelHgent,  her  beautiful  smiling  lips  of  the 
colour  of  the  berries  of  the  mountain  ash,  her 
teeth  a  shower  of  lustrous  pearls.  Her  face  and 
form,  her  limbs,  hands  and  feet,  were  such 
that  no  defect,  blemish  or  disproportion  could 
be  observed,  though  one  might  watch  and  ob- 
serve long,  seeking  to  discover  them.  In  that 
daughter  of  the  High  Poet  and  Historian  of  the 
Hound-race  of  the  North,  ^  child  of  valour  and 
true  wisdom,  the  body  did  not  predominate 
over  the  spirit,  or  the  spirit  over  the  body,  for 
as  her  form  was  of  matchless,  incomparable,  and 
inexpressible  beauty,  so  her  mind  was  not  a 

^  The  hound  was  the  type  of  valour.  Though  Cuculain  was 
pre-eminently  the  Hound,  the  Gaelic  equivalents  of  this  word  will 
be  discovered  in  most  of  the  famous  names  of  the  cycle. 


88  THE   COMING   OF  CUCULAIN 

whit  less  well  proportioned  and  refined.  Jocund 
and  happy,  breathing  innocence  and  love,  she 
came  up  the  dell.  The  birds  of  Angus^  unseen 
flew  above  her  and  shed  upon  her  unearthly 
graces  and  charms  from  the  waving  of  their 
immortal  wings.  A  silver  brooch  lay  on  her 
breast,  the  pin  of  fine  bronze  ran  straight  from 
one  shoulder  to  the  other.  On  her  head  was  a 
lustrous  tyre  or  leafy  diadem  shading  her  count- 
enance, gold  above  and  silver  below.  Her  short 
kirtle  was  white  below  the  rose-red  mantle,  and 
fringed  with  gold  thread  above  her  perfect  and 
lightly  stepping  feet.  Shoes  she  wore  shining 
with  brightest  wire  of  findruiney.  As  she  came 
up  the  dell,  rejoicing  in  her  freedom  and  the 
sweetness  of  that  sylvan  place  and  the  solitude, 
she  contemplated  the  bright  stream,  and  sang 
clear  and  sweet  an  unpremeditated  song. 

Naysi  stepped  forth  from  his  place,  putting 
aside  the  ivy  with  his  hands,  and  came  down  the 
dell  to  meet  her  in  her  coming.  She  did  not 
scream  or  tremble  or  show  any  signs  of  confusion, 
though  she  had  never  before  seen  any  of  the 
youths  of  the  Gael.  She  only  stood  still  and 
straight,  and  with  wide  eyes  of  wonder  watched 


*  Angus  Ogue's  kisses  became  invisible  birds  whose  singing  inspired 
love. 


DEIRDRE  89 

him  as  he  drew  nigh,  for  she  thought  at  first  that 
it  was  the  genius  of  that  glen  and  torrent  taking 
form  in  reply  to  her  druidic  lay.  Then  when 
she  recognised  the  comrade  and  playfellow  of 
her  vision,  she  smiled  a  friendly  and  affectionate 
greeting.  On  the  other  hand,  Naysi  came 
trembling  and  blushing.  He  bowed  himself  to 
the  earth  before  her,  and  kissed  the  grass  before 
her  feet. 

They  remained  together  a  long  time  in  the 
glen  and  told  each  other  all  they  knew  and 
thought  and  felt,  save  one  feeling  untellable, 
happy  beyond  all  power  of  language  to  express. 
When  Deirdre  rose  to  go,  Naysi  asked  for  some 
token  and  symbol  of  remembrance. 

As  they  went  she  gathered  a  rose  and  gave  it 
to  Naysi. 

"  There  is  a  great  meaning  in  this  token 
amongst  the  youths  and  maidens  of  the  Gael,'* 
said  he. 

"  I  know  that,"  answered  Deirdr6.  Deirdr6 
returned  to  Levarcam. 

"  Thou  hast  gathered  the  flower,"  said  Levar- 
cam. 

"  I  have,"  she  rephed,  "  and  death  and  Hfe 
are  one  to  me  now,  dear  foster-mother." 

Naysi  went  away  through  the  forest  and  there 


go  THE  COMING   OF  CUCULAIN 

is  nothing  related  concerning  him  till  he  reached 
Dun  Usna.  It  was  night  when  he  entered  the 
hall.  His  brothers  were  sitting  at  the  central 
fire.  Anli  was  scouring  a  shield  ;  Ardane  was 
singing  the  while  he  polished  a  spear  and  held 
it  out  against  the  light  to  see  its  straightness  and 
its  lustre.  They  were  in  no  way  alarmed  about 
their  brother. 

"  I  have  seen  Deirdre,  the  daughter  of  Felim/' 
he  said. 

"  Then  thou  art  lost !  *'  they  answered  ;  the 
weapons  fell  from  their  hands  upon  the  floor. 

"  I  am,"  he  replied. 

"  What  is  thy  purpose  ?  "  they  said. 

**  To  storm  the  guarded  dun,  even  if  I  go 
against  it  alone.  To  bear  away  Deirdre  and  pass 
into  the  land  of  the  Albanagh."^ 

"  Thou  shalt  not  go  alone,"  they  said.  *'  We 
have  shared  in  thy  glory  and  thy  power,  we  will 
share  all  things  with  thee." 

They  put  their  right  hand  into  his  on  that 
promise.  One  hundred  and  fifty  nobles  of  the 
nobles  of  that  territory  did  the  same,  for  with 
Naysi  as  their  captain  they  did  not  fear  to  go 


^  The  Albanagh  were  the  people  who  inhabited  the  north  and 
west  of  Scotland,  in  fact  the  Highlanders.  In  ancient  times  they 
and  the  Irish  were  regarded  as  one  people. 


DEIRDKE  gi 

upon  any  enterprise.  They  knew  that  expatria- 
tion awaited  them,  but  they  had  rather  be  with 
Naysi  and  his  brothers  in  a  strange  land  than  to 
live  without  them  in  Ireland.  So  the  Clan  Usna 
with  their  mighty  men  stormed  the  dun  and 
bore  off  Deirdre  and  went  away  eastward  to  the 
Muimicht.  And  they  crossed  the  Moyle^  in  ships 
into  the  country  of  the  Albanagh,  and  settled  on 
the  delightful  shores  of  Loch  Etive  and  made 
swordland  of  the  surrounding  territory.  Great, 
famous,  and  long  remembered  were  the  deeds 
of  the  children  of  Usna  in  that  land. 


» The  sea  between   Ireland   and  Scotland.     "  Silent,    O   Moyle, 
be  the  roar  of  thy  waters." 


CHAPTER  XI 

THERE   WAS    WAR   IN    ULSTER 

"  Each  spake  words  of  high  disdain 
And  insult  to  his  heart's  best  brother. 
They  parted  ne'er  to  meet  again." — Coi<Eridge. 

It  was  on  account  of  this  that  there  arose  at 
first  that  dissidence  and  divergence  of  opinion  in 
the  great  Council  at  Emain  Macha  between 
Concobar  Mac  Nessa  and  Fergus  Mac  Roy,  Con- 
cobar  standing  for  the  law  which  he  had  been 
sworn  to  safeguard  and  to  execute,  and  Fergus 
casting  over  the  lovers  the  shield  of  his  name 
and  fame,  his  authority  and  his  strength,  and  the 
singular  affection  with  which  he  was  regarded  by 
all  the  Ultonians. 

After  Fergus  had  made  that  speech  in  dis- 
paragement and  contempt  of  the  solemn  enact- 
ment and  decree  in  accordance  with  which 
Deirdre  had  been  immured,  Concobar  did  not 
immediately  answer,  for  he  knew  that  he  was 
heated  both  on  account  of  the  abduction  and  on 
account  of  the  words  of  Fergus.     Then  he  said — 

"  The  valour  of  the  Red  Branch,  whereby  we 

92 


THERE  WAS  WAR  IN  UI^STER  93 

flourish  so  conspicuously  here  in  the  North,  doth 
not  spring  out  of  itself,  and  doth  not  come  by- 
discipline,  teaching,  and  example.  It  has  its 
root  in  a  virtue  of  which  the  bards  indeed,  for 
bardic  reasons,  make  little  mention  though  it 
hold  a  firm  place  in  the  laws  of  the  Ultonians 
both  ancient  and  recent.  This,  our  valour,  and 
the  famous  kindred  virtues  through  which  we  are 
strong  and  irresistible,  so  that  the  world  has  to- 
day nothing  anywhere  of  equal  glory  and  power, 
spring  from  the  chastity  of  our  women,  which  is 
conspicuous  and  clear-shining,  and  in  the  modesty 
and  shamefastness  of  our  young  heroes,  and  the 
extreme  rarity  of  lawless  relations  between  men 
and  women  in  Ulla,  the  servile  tribes  excepted, 
of  whom  no  man  maketh  any  account.  Against 
such  lawlessness  our  wise  ancestors  have  decreed 
terrible  punishments.  According  to  the  laws  of 
the  Ultonians,  those  who  offend  in  this  respect 
are  burned  alive  in  the  place  of  the  burnings, 
and  over  their  ashes  are  thrown  the  three  throws 
of  dishonour.  And  well  I  know  that  these  laws 
ofttimes  to  the  unthinking  and  to  those  who 
judge  by  their  affections  merely,  seem  harsh 
and  unnatural.  Yea  truly,  were  I  not  high  King, 
I  could  weep,  seeing  gentle  youths  and  maidens, 


94  TEE   COMING   OF  CUCULAIN 

and  men  and  women,  whom  the  singing  of 
Angus  Ogue's  birds  have  made  mad,  led  away 
by  my  orders  to  be  devoured  by  flame.  But  so 
it  is  best,  for  without  chastity  valour  faileth  in 
a  nation,  and  lawlessness  in  this  respect  be- 
getteth  sure  and  rapid  decay,  and  I  give  not 
this  forth  as  an  opinion  but  as  a  thing  that  I 
know,  seeing  it  as  clearly  with  my  mind,  O 
Fergus,  as  I  .see  with  my  eyes  thy  countenance 
and  form  and  the  foldings  of  thy  fuan^  and  the 
shape  and  ornamentation  of  the  wheel-brooch 
upon  thy  breast.  Without  chastity  there  is  no 
enduring  valour  in  a  nation.     And  thou,  too, 

0  Fergus,  sitting  there  in  the  champion's  throne, 
hast  more  than  once  or  twice  heard  me  pro- 
nounce the  dread  sentence  without  word  of 
protest  or  dissent.  But  now,  because  it  toucheth 
thee  thyself,  strongly  and  fiercely  thy  voice  of 
protest  is  lifted  up,  and  unless  I  and  this  Council 
can  over-persuade  thee,  this  thy  rebellious  pur- 
pose will  be  thy  own  undoing  or  that  of  the  Red 
Branch.    Are  the  sons  of  Usna  dear  only  to  thee  ? 

1  say  they  are  dearer  to  me,  but  the  Red  Branch 
is  still  dearer,  and  it  is  the  destruction  of  the 
Red  Branch  which  unwittingly  thou  wouldst 
compass.     No.v   was   that   law   concerning   the 

^  Mantle. 


THERE  WAS  WAR  IN  ULSTER  95 

inviolable  virginity  of  the  child  of  Felim  foolish 
or  unwise,  for  it  was  made  solemnly  by  the 
Ultonians  in  obedience  to  the  united  voice  of  the 
Druids  of  UUa,  men  who  see  deeply  into  the 
hidden  causes  of  things  and  the  obscure  relations 
of  events,  of  which  we  men  of  war  have  no 
perception." 

So  spoke  Concobar,  not  threateningly  like  a 
sovereign  king,  but  pleadingly.  On  the  other 
hand  Fergus  Mac  Roy,  rearing  his  huge  form, 
stood  upon  his  feet,  and  said — 

"  To  answer  fine  reasonings  I  have  no  skill, 
but  I  swear  by  the  sun  and  the  wind  and  the 
earth  and  by  my  own  right  hand,  which  is  a 
stronger  oath  than  any,  that  I  will  bring  back 
the  sons  of  Usna  into  Ireland,  and  that  they  shall 
live  and  flourish  in  their  place  and  sit  honour- 
ably in  this  great  hall  of  the  Clanna  Rury,  whe- 
ther it  be  pleasing  to  thee  or  displeasing.  For 
I  take  the  Clan  Usna  under  my  protection  from 
this  day  forth,  and  well  I  know  that  there  is  not 
in  Erin  or  in  Alba  a  man  bom  of  a  woman,  no 
nor  the  Tuatha  De  Danan  themselves,  who  will 
break  through  that  protection  !  " 

"  I  will  break  through  it,"  said  the  King. 

After  that  Fergus  departed  from  Emain  Macha 
and  went  away  with  his  people  into  the  east  to 


96  THE  COMING  OF  CUCULAIN 

his  own  country.  There  he  debated  and  con- 
sidered for  a  long  time,  but  at  last,  so  great  was 
his  affection  for  the  Clan  Usna,  that  he  went 
over  the  Moyle  in  ships  to  the  country  of  the 
Albanagh  and  brought  home  the  sons  of  Usna, 
and  they  were  slain  by  Concobar  Mac  Nessa, 
according  as  he  had  promised  by  the  word  of  his 
mouth.  Then  Fergus  rebelled  against  Concobar, 
drawing  after  him  two-thirds  of  the  Red  Branch, 
and  amongst  them  Duvac  Dael  UUa  and  Cormac 
Conlingas,  Concobar's  own  son,  and  many  other 
great  men,  but  the  chiefest  and  best  and  most 
renowned  of  the  Ultonians  adhered  to  the  King. 
The  whole  province  was  shaken  with  war  and 
there  was  great  shedding  of  blood,  but  in  the 
end  Concobar  prevailed  and  drove  out  Fergus 
Mac  Roy.  After  that  expulsion  Fergus  and 
three  thousand  of  the  Red  Branch  fled  across 
the  Shannon  and  came  to  Rath  Cruhane,  and 
entered  into  military  service  with  Meave  who  was 
the  queen  of  all  the  country  west  of  the  Shannon. 
There  is  nothing  told  about  Cuculain  in  con- 
nection with  this  war.  It  is  hard  to  imagine 
him  taking  any  side  in  such  a  war.  But,  in  fact, 
he  was  still  a  schoolboy  under  tutors  and 
governors  and  could  not  lawfully  appear  in  arms, 
seeing  that  he  was  not  yet  knighted.    He  was 


THERE  WAS  WAR  IN  ULSTER  97 

either  with  the  smiths  or,  having  procured  a 
vrorthy  hound  to  take  his  place,  he  had  gone 
back  to  the  royal  school  at  Emain  Macha.  But 
the  time  when  Cuculain  should  be  knighted,  that 
is  to  say,  invested  with  arms,  and  solemnly 
received  into  the  Red  Branch  as  man  to  the 
high  King  of  all  Ulla,  now  drew  on,  and  such 
a  knighting  as  that,  and  under  such  signs,  omens, 
and  portents,  has  never  been  recorded  anywhere 
in  the  history  of  the  nations. 

In  the  meantime,  Fergus  and  his  exiles  served 
Queen  Meave  and  were  subduing  all  the  rest  of 
Ireland  under  her  authority,  so  that  Meave, 
Queen  of  Connaught,  became  very  great  and 
proud,  and  in  the  end  meditated  the  overthrow 
of  Ulster  and  the  conquest  of  the  Red  Branch. 
Queen  Meave  and  Fergus  leading  the  joined  host 
of  the  four  remaining  provinces,  Meath,  Con- 
naught,  Munster,  and  Leinster,  certain  of  success 
owing  to  a  strange  lethargy  which  then  fell  on 
the  Ultonians,  did  invade  Ulster.  But  as  they 
drew  nigh  to  the  mearings  they  found  the  in-gate 
of  the  province  barred  by  one  man.  It  is 
needless  to  mention  that  man's  name.  It  was 
Dethcaen's  nursling,  the  ex-pupil  of  Fergus 
Mac  Roy,  the  little  boy  Setanta  grown  into  a 
terrible  and  irresistible  hero.    It  was  by  his 


98  THE  COMING   OF  CUCULAIN 

defence  of  Ulster  on  that  occasion  against 
Fergus  and  Meave  and  the  four  provinces,  that 
Cuculain  acquired  his  deathless  glory  and  be- 
came the  chief  hero  of  the  north-west  of  the 
world.  So  these  chapters  which  relate  to  the 
abduction  of  Deirdre  and  the  rebellion  and 
expulsion  of  Fergus,  are  a  vital  portion  of  the 
whole  story  of  Cuculain.  We  must  now  return 
to  the  hero's  schoolboy  days  which,  however, 
are  drawing  to  a  memorable  conclusion. 


CHAPTER  XII 

THE    SACRED   CHARIOT 

*'  He  dwelt  a  while  among  the  neat-herds 
Of  King  Admetus,  veiUng  his  godhood." 

Greek  Mythology. 

"  At  Tailteen  I  raced  my  steeds  against  a  woman, 
Though  great  with  child  she  came  first  to  the  goal, 
Alas,  I  knew  not  the  auburn-haired  Macha, 
Thence  came  affliction  upon  the  Ultonians." 

CoNCOBAR  Mac  Nessa. 

CoNCOBAR  Mac  Nessa  on  a  solemn  day  called 
Cuculain  forth  from  the  ranks  of  the  boys  where 
they  stood  in  the  rear  of  the  assembly  and  said — 
"  O  Setanta,  there  is  a  duty  which  falls  to  me 
by  virtue  of  my  kingly  office,  and  therein  I  need 
an  assistant.  For  it  is  my  province  to  keep 
bright  and  in  good  running  order  the  chariot 
of  Macha  wherein  she  used  to  go  forth  to  war 
from  Emain,  and  to  clean  out  the  corn-troughs 
of  her  two  steeds  and  put  there  fresh  barley 
perpetually,  and  fresh  hay  in  their  mangers. 
Ulan  the  Fair^  was  my  last  helper  in  this  office, 
till  the  recent  great  rebellion.     That  ministry  is 

'^  He  was  one  of  the  sons  of  Fergus  Mac  Roy  slain  in  the  great 
civil  war. 

99 


100  THE  COMING  OF  CUCULAIN 

thine  now,  if  it  is  pleasing  to  thee  to  accept  it." 

The  boy  said  that  it  was  pleasing,  and  the 
King  gave  him  the  key  of  the  chamber  in  which 
were  the  vessels  and  implements  used  in  dis- 
charging that  sacred  function. 

Afterwards,  on  the  same  day,  the  King  said  to 
him,  "  Wash  thyself  now  in  pure  water  and  put 
on  new  clean  raiment  and  come  again  to  me." 

The  boy  washed  himself  and  put  on  new  clean 
raiment.     The  King  himself  did  the  same. 

Concobar  said  :  "Go  now  to  the  chamber  of 
which  I  have  given  thee  the  key  and  fill  with  oil 
the  silver  oil-can  and  take  a  towel  of  the  towels 
of  fawn-skin  which  are  there  and  return."  He 
did  so  ;  and  Concobar  and  his  nephew,  armed 
youths  following,  went  to  the  house  of  the  chariot. 

Ere  Concobar  turned  the  wards  of  the  lock  he 
heard  voices  within  in  the  chariot-house.  There, 
one  said  to  another,  "  This  is  he.  Our  long 
watch  and  ward  are  near  the  end."  And  the 
other  said,  "  It  is  well.  Too  long  have  we  been 
here  waiting." 

"  Hast  thou  heard  anything,  my  nephew  ?  " 
said  Concobar. 

"  I  have  heard  nothing,"  said  the  lad. 

Concobar  opened  the  great  folding-doors. 
There  was  a  sound  there  like  glad  voices  mingled 


THE   SACRED   CHARIOT  lOI 

with  a  roar  of  revolving  wheels,  and  then  silence. 
Setanta  drew  back  in  dismay,  and  even  Concobar 
stood  still.  "  I  have  not  observed  such  portents 
before  in  the  chariot-house,"  he  said.  The 
King  and  his  nephew  entered  the  hollow  chamber. 
The  chariot  was  motionless  but  very  bright.  One 
would  have  said  that  the  bronze  burned.  It  was 
of  great  size  and  beauty.  By  its  side  were  two 
horse-stalls  with  racks  and  mangers,  the  bars 
of  the  rack  were  of  gold  bronze  which  was  called 
findruiney,  and  the  mangers  of  yellow  brass. 
The  floor  was  paved  with  cut  marble,  the  walls 
lined  with  smooth  boards  of  ash.  There  were 
no  windows,  but  there  were  nine  lamps  in  the 
room.  "  It  will  be  thy  duty  to  feed  those  lamps," 
said  Concobar. 

Concobar  took  the  fawn-skin  towel  from  the 
boy  and  polished  the  chariot,  and  the  wheels, 
tyres,  and  boxes,  and  the  wheel-spokes.  He 
oiled  the  wheels  too,  and  mightily  lifting  the 
great  chariot  seized  the  spokes  with  his  right 
hand  and  made  the  wheels  spin. 

"  Go  now  to  the  chamber  of  which  I  have  given 
thee  the  keys,"  he  said,  "  and  bring  the  buckets, 
and  clear  out  the  mangers  to  the  last  grain,  and 
empty  the  stale  barley  into  the  place  of  the  burn- 
ing, and  afterwards  take  fresh  barley  from  the  bin 


102  THE   COMING   OF  CUCULAIN 

which  is  in  the  chamber  and  fill  the  mangers. 
Empty  the  racks  also  and  bring  fresh  hay.  Thou 
wilt  find  it  stored  there  too  ;  clean  straw  also 
and  litter  the  horse-stalls." 

The  boy  did  that.  In  the  meantime  Concobar 
polished  the  pole,  and  the  yoke,  and  the  chains. 
From  the  wall  he  took  the  head-gear  of  the 
horses  and  the  long  shining  reins  of  interwoven 
brass  and  did  the  same  very  carefully  till  there 
was  not  a  speck  of  rust  or  discolouration  to 
be  seen. 

"  Where  are  the  horses,  my  Uncle  Concobar  ?  " 
said  the  boy. 

"  That  I  cannot  rightly  tell,"  said  Concobar, 
**  but  verily  they  are  somewhere." 

"  What  are  those  horses  ?  "  said  the  boy. 
*'  How  are  they  called  ?  What  their  attributes, 
and  why  do  I  fill  their  racks  and  mangers  ?  " 

*'  They  are  the  Liath  Macha  and  Black 
Shanglan,"  said  Concobar.  "  They  have  not 
been  seen  in  Erin  for  three  hundred  years,  not 
since  Macha  dwelt  visibly  in  Emain  as  the  bride 
of  Kimbaoth,  son  of  Fiontann.  In  this  chariot 
she  went  forth  to  war,  charioteering  her  warlike 
groom.  But  they  are  to  come  again  for  the 
promised  one  and  bear  him  to  battle  and  to 
conflict  in  this  chariot,  and  the  time  is  not  known 


THE   SACEED   CHARIOT  IO3 

but  the  King  of  Emain  is  under  gesa^  to  keep 
the  chariot  bright  and  the  racks  and  mangers 
furnished  with  fresh  hay,  and  barley  two  years 
old.  He  is  to  wait,  and  watch,  and  stand  pre- 
pared under  gesa  most  terrible." 

"  Maybe  Kimbaoth  will  return  to  us  again," 
said  the  boy. 

"  Nay,  it  hath  not  been  so  prophesied," 
answered  the  King.  "  He  was  great,  and  stern, 
and  formidable.  But  our  promised  one  is  gentle 
exceedingly.  He  will  not  know  his  own  great- 
ness, and  his  nearest  comrades  will  not  know  it, 
and  there  will  be  more  of  love  in  his  heart  than 
war."  So  saying  Concobar  looked  steadfastly 
upon  the  boy. 

"  Conall  Carnach  is  as  famous  for  love  as  for 
war,"  said  Setanta.  "  He  is  peerless  in  beauty, 
and  his  strength  and  courage  are  equal  to  his 
comeliness,  and  his  chivalry  and  battle-splendour 
to  his  strength." 

"  Nay,  lad,  it  is  not  Conall  Carnach,  though 
the  women  of  UUa  sicken  and  droop  for  the  love 
of  him.     Verily,  it  is  not  Conall  Carnach." 

Setanta  examined  curiously  the  great  war-car. 

"  Was  Kimbaoth  assisting  his  wife,"  he  asked, 
"  when  she  took  captive  the  sons  of  Dithorba  ?" 

*  Terrible  druidic  obligations. 


104  THE  COMING  OP  CUCULAIN 

"  Nay,"  said  the  King,  "  she  went  forth  alone 
and  crossed  the  Shannon  with  one  step  into  the 
land  of  the  Fir-bolgs,  and  there,  one  by  one,  she 
bound  those  builder-giants  the  sons  of  Dithorba, 
and  bore  them  hither  in  her  might,  and  truly 
those  five  brethren  were  no  small  load  for  the 
back  of  one  woman." 

**  Has  anyone  seen  her  in  our  time  ?  "  asked 
the  lad. 

"  I  have,"  said  Concobar.  "  I  saw  her  at  the 
great  fair  of  Tailteen.  There  she  pronounced 
a  curse  upon  me  and  upon  the  Red  Branch.^  The 
curse  hath  not  yet  fallen,  but  it  will  fall  in  my 
time,  and  the  promised  one  will  come  in  my 
time  and  he  will  redeem  us  from  its  power.  Great 
tribulation  will  be  his.  Question  me  no  more, 
dear  Setanta,  I  have  said  more  than  enough." 

They  went  forth  from  the  sacred  chamber  and 
Concobar  locked  the  doors. 

As  they  crossed  the  vacant  space  going  to  the 
palace,  Concobar  said — 

"  Why  art  thou  sad,  dear  Setanta  ?  " 

"  I  am  not  sad,"  answered  the  boy. 

*'  Truly  there  is  no  sadness  in  thy  face,  or  thy 

I  At  Tailteen  a  man  boasted  that  his  wife  could  outrun  Cohcobar's 
victorious  chariot-steeds.  Concobar  compelled  the  woman  to  run 
against  his  horses.  She  won  the  race,  but  died  at  the  goal  leaving 
her  curse  upon  the  Red  Branch. 


THE   SACBED   CHARIOT  I05 

lips,  in  thy  voice  or  thy  behaviour,  but  it  is  deep 
down  in  thine  eyes,"  said  the  King.  "I  see  it 
there  always." 

Setanta  laughed  lightly.  "  I  know  it  not," 
he  said. 

Concobar  went  his  way  after  that,  musing,  and 
Setanta,  having  replaced  the  sacred  vessels  in 
their  chamber  and  having  locked  the  door,  strode 
away  into  the  boys'  hall.  There  was  a  great  fire 
in  the  midst,  and  the  boys  sat  round  it,  for  it 
was  cold.  Cuculain  broke  their  circle,  pushing 
the  boys  asunder,  and  sat  down.  They  tried 
to  drag  him  away,  but  he  laughed  and  kept  his 
place  like  a  rock.  Then  they  called  him  "  a 
Fomorian,  and  no  man,"  and  perforce  made 
their  circle  wider. 


CHAPTER  XIII 

THE  WEIRD   HORSES 

"  On  the  brink  of  the  night  and  the  morning 
My  coursers  are  wont  to  respire, 
But  the  earth  has  just  whispered  a  warning. 
That  their  flight  must  be  swifter  than  fire, 
They  shall  breathe  the  hot  air  of  desire." 

Shei,i,EY. 

One  night  when  the  stars  shone  brightly, 
Setanta,  as  he  passed  by  Cathvah's  astrological 
tower,  heard  him  declare  to  his  students  that 
whoever  should  be  knighted  by  Concobar  on  a 
certain  day  would  be  famous  to  the  world's 
end.  He  was  in  his  coming  out  of  the  forest 
then  with  a  bundle  of  young  ash  trees  under  his 
arm.  He  thought  to  put  them  to  season  and 
therewith  make  slings,  for  truly  he  surpassed 
all  others  in  the  use  of  the  sling.  Setanta  went 
his  way  after  that  and  came  into  the  speckled 
house.  It  was  the  armoury  of  the  Red  Branch 
and  shone  with  all  manner  of  war-furniture. 
A  fire  burned  here  always,  absorbing  the  damp 
of  the  air  lest  the  metal  should  take  rust.  Se- 
tanta flung  his  trees  into  the  rafters  over  the  fire 

io6 


THE   WEIRD   HORSES  IO7 

very  deftly,  so  that  they  caught  and  remained 
there.  He  said  they  would  season  best  in  that 
place. 

As  he  turned  to  go  a  man  stood  before  him  in 
the  vast  and  hollow  chamber. 

"  I  know  thee,"  said  the  boy.  "  What 
wouldst  thou  now  ?  " 

"  Thou  shalt  go  forth  to-night,"  said  the  man,^ 
"  and  take  captive  the  Liath  Macha  and  Black 
Shanghlan.  Power  will  be  given  to  thee.  Go 
out  boldly." 

"  I  am  not  wont  to  go  out  fearfully," 
answered  the  lad.  "  Great  labours  are  thrust 
upon  me." 

He  went  into  the  supper  hall  as  at  other  times 
and  took  his  customary  place  there,  and  ate  and 
drank. 

"  Thy  eyes  are  very  bright,"  said  Laeg. 

"  They  will  be  brighter  ere  the  day,"  he 
replied. 

"  That  is  an  expert  juggler,"  said  Laeg. 
"  How  he  tosseth  the  bright  balls  !  " 

"  Can  he  toss  the  stars  so  ?  "  said  Setanta. 

"  Thou  art  strange  and  wild  to-night,"  said 
Laeg. 

^  This  man  was  Lu  the  Ivong-Haade^,  the  same  who  met  him 
when  he  was  leaving  home. 


I08  THE  COMING  OP  CUCULAIN 

*'  I  will  be  stranger  and  wilder  ere  the 
morrow,"  cried  Setanta. 

He  stood  up  to  go.  Laeg  caught  him  by  the 
skirt  of  his  mantle.  The  piece  came  away  in  his 
hand. 

"  WTiither  art  thou  going,  Setanta  ?  "  cried  the 
King  from  the  other  end  of  the  vast  hall. 

**  To  seek  my  horses,"  cried  the  lad.  His 
voice  rang  round  the  hollow  dome  and  down  the 
resounding  galleries  and  long  corridors,  so  that 
men  started  in  their  seats  and  looked  towards 
him. 

"  They  are  stabled  since  the  setting  of  the  sun," 
said  the  chief  groom. 

"  Thou  liest,"  answered  the  boy.  "  They  are 
in  the  hills  and  valleys  of  Erin."  His  eyes 
burned  like  fire  and  his  stature  was  exalted 
before  their  eyes. 

"  Great  deeds  will  be  done  in  Erin  this  night," 
said  Concobar. 

He  went  forth  into  the  night.  There  was 
great  power  upon  him.  He  crossed  the  Plain 
of  the  Hurlings  and  the  Plain  of  the  Assemblies 
and  the  open  country  and  the  great  waste  moor, 
going  on  to  Dun-Culain.  Culain's  new  hound 
cowered  low  when  he  saw  him.  The  boy  sprang 
over  moat  and  rampart  at  one  bound  and  burst 


THE   WEIRD   HORSES  lOQ 

Open  the  doors  of  the  smith's  house,  breaking 
the  bar.  The  noise  of  the  riven  beam  was  hke 
the  brattHng  of  thunder, 

**  That  is  an  unusual  way  to  enter  a  man's 
house,"  said  Culain.  He  and  his  people  were 
at  supper. 

"  It  is,"  said  Setanta.  "  Things  more  unusual 
will  happen  this  night.  Give  me  bridles  that  will 
hold  the  strongest  horses."  Culain  gave  him 
two  bridles. 

**  Will  they  hold  the  strongest  horses  ?  "  said 
the  boy. 

"  Anything  less  than  the  Liath  Macha  they 
will  hold,"  said  the  smith. 

The  boy  snapped  the  bridles  and  flung  them 
aside.  "  I  want  bridles  that  will  hold  the  Liath 
Macha  and  Black  Shanglan,"  said  he. 

"  Fire  all  the  furnaces,"  cried  Culain. 
"  Handle  your  tools  ;  show  your  might.  Work 
now,  men,  for  your  lives.  Verily,  if  he  get  not 
the  bridles,  soon  your  dead  will  be  more  nume- 
rous than  your  living." 

Culain  and  his  people  made  the  bridles.  He 
gave  them  to  Cuculain.  The  smiths  stood 
around  in  pallid  groups.  Cuculain  took  the 
bridles  and  went  forth.  He  went  south-west- 
wards to  Sheve  Fuad,  and  came  to  the  Grey 


no  THE   COMING    OF  CUCULAIN 

Lake.  The  moon  shone  and  the  lake  glowed 
like  silver.  There  was  a  great  horse  feeding 
by  the  lake.  He  raised  his  head  and  neighed 
when  he  heard  footsteps  on  the  hill.  He  came 
on  against  Cuculain  and  Cuculain  went  on 
against  him.  The  boy  had  one  bridle  knotted 
round  his  waist  and  the  other  in  his  teeth.  He 
leaped  upon  the  steed  and  caught  him  by  the 
forelock  and  his  mouth."  The  horse  reared 
mightily,  but  Setanta  held  him  and  dragged 
his  head  down  to  the  ground.  The  grey  steed 
grew  greater  and  more  terrible.  So  did  Cucu- 
lain. 

"  Thou  hast  met  thy  master,  O  Liath  Macha, 
this  night,"  he  cried.  "  Surely  I  will  not  lose 
thee.  Ascend  into  the  heavens,  or,  breaking 
the  earth's  roof,  descend  to  Orchil,^  yet  even  so 
thou  wilt  not  shake  me  away." 

Ireland  quaked  from  the  centre  to  the  sea. 
They  reeled  together,  steed  and  hero,  through 
the  plains  of  Murthemney.  "  Make  the  circuit 
of  Ireland  Liath  Macha  and  I  shall  be  on  the 
neck  of  thee,"  cried  Cuculain.  The  horse  went 
in  reeling  circles  round  Ireland.  Cuculain 
mightily  thust  the  bit  into  his  mouth  and  made 
fast  the  headstall.     The  Liath  Macha  went  a 

*  A  great  sorceress  who  ruled  the  world  under  the  earth. 


THE   WEIRD  HORSES  III 

second  time  round  Ireland.  The  sea  retreated 
from  the  shore  and  stood  in  heaps.  Cuculain 
sprang  upon  his  back.  A  third  time  the  horse 
went  round  Ireland,  bounding  from  peak  to 
peak.  They  seemed  a  resplendent  Fomorian 
phantom  against  the  stars.  The  horse  came  to 
a  stand.  "  I  think  thou  art  tamed,  O  Liath 
Macha,"  said  Cuculain.  "  Go  on  now  to  the 
Dark  Valley."  They  came  to  the  Dark  Valley. 
There  was  night  there  always.  Shapes  of 
Death  and  Horror,  Fomorian  apparitions, 
guarded  the  entrance.  They  came  against 
Cuculain,  and  he  went  against  them.  A  voice 
from  within  cried,  "  Forbear,  this  is  the  pro- 
mised one.  Your  watching  and  warding  are 
at  end."  He  rode  into  the  Dark  Valley. 
There  was  a  roaring  of  unseen  rivers  in  the 
darkness,  of  black  cataracts  rushing  down  the 
steep  sides  of  the  Valley.  The  Liath  Macha 
neighed  loudly.  The  neigh  reverberated  through 
the  long  Valley.  A  horse  neighed  joyfully  in 
response.  There  was  a  noise  of  iron  doors 
rushing  open  somewhere,  and  a  four-footed 
thunderous  trampling  on  the  hollow-sounding 
earth.  A  steed  came  to  the  Liath  Macha. 
Cuculain  felt  for  his  head  in  the  dark,  and  bitted 
and  bridled  him  ere  he  was  aware.     The  horse 


112  THE   COMING   OF  CUCDLAIN 

reared  and  struggled.  The  Liath  Macha 
dragged  him  down  the  Valley.  "  Struggle  not, 
Black  Shanglan,"  said  Cuculain,  "  I  have  tamed 
thy  better."  The  horse  ceased  to  struggle. 
Down  and  out  of  the  Dark  Valley  rodest  thou, 
O  peerless  one,  with  thy  horses.  The  Liath 
Macha  was  grey  to  whiteness,  the  other  horse 
was  black  and  glistening  like  the  bright  mail 
of  the  chaffer.  He  rode  thence  to  Emain  Macha 
with  the  two  horses  like  a  lord  of  Day  and  Night, 
and  of  Life  and  Death.  Truly  the  might  and 
power  of  the  Long-Handed  and  Far-Shooting 
one  was  upon  him  that  night.  He  came  to 
Emain  Macha.  The  doors  of  Macha's  stable 
flew  open  before  him.  He  rode  the  horses  into 
the  stable.  Macha's  war-car  brayed  forth  a 
brazen  roar  of  welcome,  the  Tuatha  De  Danan 
shouted,  and  the  car  itself  glowed  and  sparkled. 
The  horses  went  to  their  ancient  stalls,  the  Liath 
Macha  to  that  which  was  nearer  to  the  door. 
Cuculain  took  off  their  bridles  and  hanged  them 
on  the  wall.  He  went  forth  into  the  night. 
The  horses  were  already  eating  their  barley, 
but  they  looked  after  him  as  he  went.  The 
doors  shut  to  with  a  brazen  clash.  Cuculain 
stood  alone  in  the  great  court  under  the  stars. 
A  druidic  storm  was  abroad  and  howled  in  the 


\  THE   WEIRD  HORSES  II3 

forests.  He  thought  all  that  had  taken  place 
a  wild  dream.  He  went  to  his  dormitory  and 
to  his  couch.  Laeg  was  asleep  with  the  starlight 
shining  on  his  white  forehead  ;  his  red  hair  was 
shed  over  the  pillow.  Cuculain  kissed  him,  and 
sitting  on  the  bed's  edge  wept.     Laeg  awoke. 

"  Thou  wert  not  well  at  supper,"  said  Laeg, 
**  and  now  thou  hast  been  wandering  in  the  damp 
of  the  night,  and  thou  with  a  fever  upon  thee, 
for  I  hear  thy  teeth  clattering.  I  sought  to 
hinder  thee,  and  thou  wouldst  not  be  persuaded. 
Verily,  if  thou  wilt  not  again  obey  me,  being  thy 
senior,  thou  shalt  have  sore  bones  at  my  hands. 
Undress  thyself  now  and  come  to  bed  without 
delay." 

Cuculain  did  so. 

*'  Thou  art  as  cold  as  ice,"  said  Laeg. 

*'  Nay,  I  am  hotter  than  fire,"  said  Cuculain. 

"  Thou  art  ice,  I  say,"  said  Laeg,  "  and  thy 
teeth  are  clattering  like  hailstones  on  a  brazen 
shield.     Ay,  and  thine  eyes  shine  terribly." 

Laeg  started  from  the  couch.  He  struck 
flintsparks  upon  a  rag  steeped  in  nitre,  and 
waved  it  to  a  flame,  and  kindled  a  Ian  thorn. 
He  flung  his  own  mantle  upon  the  bed  and  went 
forth  in  his  shirt.  The  storm  raged  terribly  ; 
the  stars  were  dancing  in  high  heaven.    He  came 


114  "^^^  COMING   OF  CUCULAIN 

to  the  house  of  the  Chief  Leech  and  beat  at  the 
door.  The  Leech  was  not  in  bed.  All  the  wise 
men  of  Emain  Macha  were  awake  that  night, 
listening  to  the  portents. 

"  Setanta,  son  of  Sualtam,  is  sick,"  said  Laeg. 

"  What  are  his  symptoms  ?  "  said  the  Leech. 

**  He  is  colder  than  ice,  his  eyes  shine  terribly, 
and  his  teeth  clatter,  but  he  says  that  he  is 
hotter  than  fire." 

The  Leech  went  to  Cuculain.  **  This  is  not  a 
work  for  me,"  he  said,  "  but  for  a  seer.  Bring 
hither  Cathvah  and  his  Druids."  Cathvah  and 
and  his  seers  came.  They  made  their  symbols 
of  power  over  the  youth  and  chanted  their  in- 
cantations and  Druid  songs.  After  that  Cucu- 
lain slept.  He  slept  for  three  days  and  three 
nights.  There  was  a  great  stillness  while  the 
boy  slept,  for  it  was  not  lawful  at  any  time 
for  anyone  to  awake  Cuculain  when  he  slum- 
bered. 

On  the  third  morning  Cuculain  awoke.  The 
bright  morning  sunshine  was  all  around,  and  the 
birds  sang  in  Emain  Macha.  He  called  for  Laeg 
with  a  loud  voice  and  bade  him  order  a  division 
of  the  boys  to  get  ready  their  horses  and  chariots 
for  charioteering  exercise  and  fighting  out  of 
their  cars. 


CHAPTER  XIV 

THE  KNIGHTING  OF  CUCULAIN 

"  Then  felt  I  like  a  watcher  of  the  skies 
When  a  new  planet  swims  into  his  ken." 

Keats, 

The  prophecies  concerning  the  coming  of  some 
extraordinary  warrior  amongst  the  Red  Branch 
had  been  many  and  ancient,  and  by  certain  signs 
Concobar  beheved  that  his  time  was  now  near. 
Often  he  contemplated  his  nephew,  observed  his 
beauty,  his  strength,  and  his  unusual  proficiency 
in  all  martial  exercises,  and  mused  deeply  con- 
sidering the  omens.  But  when  he  saw  him 
slinging  and  charioteering  amongst  the  rest, 
shooting  spears  and  casting  battle-stones  at  a 
mark  before  the  palace  upon  the  lawn,  and  saw 
him  eating  and  drinking  before  him  nightly  in 
the  hall  like  another,  and  heard  his  clear  voice 
and  laughter  amongst  the  boys,  his  school- 
fellows and  comrades,  then  the  thought  or  the 
faint  surmise  or  wish  that  his  nephew  might  be 
that  promised  one  passed  out  of  his  mind,  for 
the  prophesyings  and  the  rumours  had  been  very 

"5 


Il6  THE  COMING  OF  CUCULAIN 

great,  and  men  looked  for  one  who  should  re- 
semble Lu  the  Long-Handed,  son  of  Ethlend,'^ 
whose  sling  was  like  the  cloud  bow,  who  thun- 
dered and  lightened  against  the  giants  of  the 
Fomoroh,  who  was  all  power  and  all  skill,  whose 
chain  wherewith  he  used  to  confine  Tuatha  De 
Danan  and  Milesians,  spanned  the  midnight  sky. 
The  rumours  and  prophecies  were  indeed  ex- 
ceeding great  and  Cuculain,  though  he  far  sur- 
passed the  rest,  was  but  a  boy  like  others.  He 
stood  at  the  head  of  Concobar's  horses  when  the 
King  ascended  his  chariot.  His  shoulder  was 
warm  and  firm  to  the  touch  when  the  King 
lightly  laid  his  hand  upon  him. 

One  night  there  were  terrible  portents.  All 
Ireland  quaked  ;  there  was  a  druidic  storm 
under  bright  stars  ;  the  buildings  rocked  ;  a 
brazen  clangour  sounded  from  the  Tec  Brae  ; 
there  were  mighty  tramplings  and  cries  and  a 
fourfooted  thunder  of  giant  hoofs,  and  they  went 
round  Ireland  three  times,  only  the  third  time 
swifter  and  like  a  hurricane  of  sound.     Cuculain 


^  This  great  deity  resembled  the  Greek  Phoebus  Apollo.  He  led 
the  rebellion  of  the  gods  against  the  Fomorian  giants  who  had  pre- 
viously reduced  them  to  a  condition  of  intolerable  slavery.  Some 
say  that  he  was  Cuculain's  true  father.  His  favourite  weapon  was 
the  sling,  likened  here  to  the  rainbow.  It  was  not  a  thong  or  cord 
sling,  but  a  pliant  rod  such  as  boys  in  Ireland  still  make.  The 
milky  way  was  his  chain. 


THE  KNIGHTING   OF  CUCULAIN  II7 

was  abroad  that  night.  There  was  deep  sleep 
upon  the  people  of  Emain,  only  the  chiefs  were 
awake  and  aware.  Cuculain  was  sick  after  that. 
The  Druids  stood  around  his  bed. 

"  The  world  labours  with  the  new  birth,"  said 
Concobar.  "  Maybe  my  nephew  is  the  fore- 
runner, the  herald  and  announcer  of  the  coming 
god  !  " 

One  evening,  after  supper,  when  the  lad  came 
to  bid  his  uncle  good-night  as  his  custom  was, 
he  said,  "If  it  be  pleasing  to  thee,  my  Uncle 
Concobar,  I  would  be  knighted  on  the  morrow, 
for  I  am  now  of  due  age,  and  owing  to  the  in- 
structions of  my  tutor,  Fergus  Mac  Roy,  and 
thyself,  and  my  other  teachers  and  instructors, 
I  am  thought  to  be  sufficiently  versed  in  martial 
exercises,  and  able  to  play  a  man's  part  amongst 
the  Red  Branch." 

He  was  now  a  man's  full  height,  but  his  face 
was  a  boy's  face,  and  his  strength  and  agility 
amazed  all  who  observed  him  in  his  exercises. 

"  Has  thou  heard  what  Cathvah  has  predicted 
concerning  the  youth  who  is  knighted  on  that 
day  ?  "  said  the  King. 

"  Yes,"  answered  the  lad. 

"  That  he  will  be  famous  and  short-lived  and 
unhappy  ?  " 


Il8  THE  COMING  OF  CUCULAIN 

*'  Truly,"  he  replied. 

*'  And  doth  thy  purpose  still  hold  ?  " 

"  Yes,"  he  answered,  "  but  whether  it  be 
mine  I  cannot  tell." 

Concobar,  though  unwilling,  yielded  to  that 
request. 

Loegairey,  the  Victorious,  son  of  Conud,  son 
of  Iliach,  the  second  best  knight  of  the  Red 
Branch  and  the  most  devoted  to  poetry  of  them 
all  came  that  night  into  the  hall  while  the  rest 
slumbered.  The  candles  were  flickering  in  their 
sockets.  Darkness  invested  the  rest  of  the  vast 
hollow-sounding  chamber,  but  there  was  light 
around  the  throne  and  couch  of  the  King,  owing 
to  the  splendour  of  the  pillars  and  of  the  canopy 
shining  with  bronze,  white  and  red,  and  silver 
and  gold,  and  glittering  with  carbuncles  and 
diamonds,  and  owing  to  the  light  which  always 
surrounded  the  King  and  encircled  his  regal 
head  like  a  luminous  cloud,  seen  by  many. 
He  was  looking  straight  out  before  him  with 
bright  eyes,  considering  and  consulting  for 
the  Red  Branch  while  they  slept.  Two  great 
men  having  their  swords  drawn  in  their  hands, 
stood  behind  him,  on  the  right  and  on  the  left, 
like  statues,  motionless  and  silent. 

Loegairey  drew  nigh  to  the  King.    Distraction 


THE  KNIGHTING   OF   CUCULAIN 


119 


and  amazement  were  in  his  face.  His  dense 
and  lustrous  hair  was  dishevelled  and  in 
agitation  round  his  neck  and  huge  shoulders. 
He  held  in  his  hand  two  long  spears  with  rings 
of  walrus  tooth  where  the  timber  met  the  shank 
of  the  flashing  blades ;  they  trembled  in  his  hand. 
His  lips  were  dry,  his  voice  very  low. 

"  There  are  horses  in  the  stable  of  Macha," 
he  said. 

**  I  know  it,"  answered  the  King. 

Concobar  called  for  water,  and  when  he  had 
washed  his  hands  and  his  face,  he  took  from  its 
place  the  chess-board  of  the  realm,  arranged  the 
men,  and  observed  their  movements  and  com- 
binations. He  closed  the  board  and  put  the 
men  in  their  net  of  bronze  wire,  and  restored  all 
to  their  place. 

**  Great  things  will  happen  on  the  morrow,  O 
grandson  of  Iliach,"  he  said.  "  Take  candles 
and  go  before  me  to  the  boys'  dormitory." 

They  went  to  the  boys'  dormitory  and  to  the 
couch  of  Cuculain.  Cuculain  and  Laeg  were 
asleep  together  there.  Their  faces  towards  each 
other  and  their  hair  mingled  together.  Cuculain' s 
face  was  very  tranquil,  and  his  breathing  in- 
audible, like  an  infant's. 

*'  O  sweet  and  serene  face,"  murmured  the 


120  THE  COMING   OF   CUCtJLAIN 

King,   "I  see  great  clouds  of  sorrow  coming 
upon  you." 

They  returned  to  the  hall. 

*'  Go  now  to  thy  rest  and  thy  slumber,  O 
Loegairey,"  said  the  King.  "  When  the  curse 
of  Macha  descends  upon  us  I  know  one  who  will 
withstand  it." 

"  Surely  it  is  not  that  stripling  ?  "  said 
Loegairey.     But  the  King  made  no  answer. 

On  the  morrow  there  was  a  great  hosting  of 
the  Red  Branch  on  the  plain  of  the  Assemblies. 
It  was  May-Day  morning  and  the  sun  shone 
brightly,  but  at  first  through  radiant  showers. 
The  trees  were  putting  forth  young  buds ;  the 
wet  grass  sparkled.  All  the  martial  pomp  and 
glory  of  the  Ultonians  were  exhibited  that  day. 
Their  chariots  and  war-horses  ringed  the  plain. 
All  the  horses'  heads  were  turned  towards  the 
centre  where  were  Concobar  Mac  Nessa  and  the 
chiefs  of  the  Red  Branch.  The  plain  flashed 
with  gold,  bronze,  and  steel,  and  glowed  with  the 
bright  mantles  of  the  innumerable  heroes,  crim- 
son and  scarlet,  blue,  green,  or  purple.  The 
huge  brooches  on  their  breasts  of  gold  and  silver 
or  gold-like  bronze,  were  like  resplendent  wheels. 
Their  long  hair,  yellow  for  the  most  part,  was 
bound  with  ornaments  of  gold.     Great,  truly, 


THE   KNIGHTING   OF   CUCULAIN  121 

were  those  men,  their  like  has  not  come  since 
upon  the  earth.  They  were  the  heroes  and 
demigods  of  the  heroic  age  of  Erin,  champions 
who  feared  nought  beneath  the  sun,  mightiest 
among  the  mighty,  huge,  proud,  and  uncon- 
querable, and  loyal  and  affectionate  beyond  all 
others ;  all  of  the  blood  of  Ir,^  son  of  Milesius, 
the  CI  anna  Rury  of  great  renown,  rejoicing  in 
their  valour,  their  splendour,  their  fame  and 
their  peerless  king.  Concobar  had  no  crown. 
A  plain  circle  of  beaten  gold  girt  his  broad 
temples.  In  the  naked  glory  of  his  regal  man- 
hood he  stood  there  before  them  all,  but  even 
so  a  stranger  would  have  swiftly  discovered  the 
captain  of  the  Red  Branch,  such  was  his  stature, 
his  bearing,  such  his  slowly-turning,  steady- 
gazing  eyes  and  the  majesty  of  his  bearded 
countenance.  His  countenance  was  long,  broad 
above  and  narrow  below,  his  nose  eminent,  his 
beard  bipartite,  curling  and  auburn  in  hue,  his 
form  without  any  blemish  or  imperfection. 

Cuculain  came  forth  from  the  palace.  He 
wore  that  day  a  short  mantle  of  pale-red  silk 
bordered  with  white  thread  and  fastened  on  the 
breast  with  a  small  brooch  like  a  wheel  of  silver. 


^  On  account  of  their  descent  from  Ir,  son  of  Milesius,  the  Red 
Branch,  were  also  called,  the  Ixians,, 


122  THE  COMING  OF  CUCULAIN 

The  hues  upon  that  silk  were  never  the  same. 
His  tunic  of  fine  Unen  was  girt  at  the  waist  with 
a  leathern  zone,  stained  to  the  resemblance  of 
the  wild-briar  rose.  It  descended  to  but  did 
not  pass  his  beautiful  knees,  falling  into  many- 
plaits.  The  tunic  was  cut  low  at  the  neck, 
exposing  his  throat  and  the  knot  in  the  throat 
and  the  cup-shaped  indentation  above  the  breast. 
On  his  feet  were  comely  shoes  sparkling  with 
bronze  plates.  They  took  the  colour  of  every- 
thing which  they  approached.  His  hair  fell  in 
many  curls  over  the  pale-red  mantle,  without 
adornment  or  confinement.  It  was  the  colour 
of  the  flower  which  is  named  after  the  dearest 
Disciple,  but  which  was  called  sovarchey  by 
the  Gael.  A  tinge  of  red  ran  through  the  gold. 
As  to  his  eyes,  no  two  men  or  women  could 
agree  concerning  their  colour,  for  some  said 
they  were  blue,  and  some  grey,  and  others  hazel ; 
and  there  were  those  who  said  that  they  were 
blacker  than  the  blackest  night  that  was  ever 
known.  Yet  again,  there  were  those  who  said 
that  they  were  of  all  colours  named  and  nameless. 
They  were  soft  and  liquid  splendours,  unfathom- 
able lakes  of  light  above  his  full  and  ruddy 
cheeks,  and  beneath  his  curved  and  most  tran- 
quil   brows      In    form    he    was    symmetrical. 


THE  KNIGHTING   OF   CUCULAIN  I23 

straight  and  pliant  as  a  young  fir  tree  when  the 
sweet  spring  sap  fills  its  veins.  So  he  came  to 
that  assembly,  in  the  glory  of  youth,  beauty, 
strength,  valour,  and  beautiful  shame-fastness, 
yet  proud  in  his  humility  and  glittering  like  the 
morning  star.  Choice  youths,  his  comrades,  at- 
tended him.  The  kings  held  their  breaths  when 
he  drew  nigh,  moving  white  knee  after  white 
knee  over  the  green  and  sparkling  grass.  When 
the  other  rites  had  been  performed  and  the  due 
sacrifices  and  libations  made,  and  after  Cuculain 
had  put  his  right  hand  into  the  right  hand  of  the 
King  and  become  his  man,  Concobar  gave  him 
a  shield,  two  spears  and  a  sword,  weapons  of 
great  price  and  of  thrice  proved  excellence — 
a  strong  man's  equipment.  Cuculain  struck 
the  spears  together  at  right  angles  and  broke 
them.  He  clashed  the  sword  flat-wise  on  the 
shield.  The  sword  leaped  into  small  pieces  and 
the  shield  was  bent  inwards  and  torn. 

"  These  are  not  good  weapons,  my  King," 
said  the  boy.  Then  the  King  gave  him  others, 
larger  and  stronger  and  worthy  of  his  best 
champions.  These,  too,  the  boy  broke  into 
pieces  in  like  manner. 

"  Son  of  Nessa,  these  are  still  worse,"  he  said, 
"  nor  is  it  well  done,  O  Captain  of  the  Red 


124  ^^^  COMING    OF  CUCULAIN 

Branch,  to  make  me  a  laughing-stock  in  the 
presence  of  this  great  hosting  of  the  Ultonians." 

Concobar  Mac  Nessa  exulted  exceedingly  when 
he  beheld  the  amazing  strength  and  the  way- 
wardness of  the  boy,  and  beneath  delicate  brows 
his  eyes  glittered  like  glittering  swords  as  he 
glanced  proudly  round  on  the  crowd  of  martial 
men  that  surrounded  him.  Amongst  them  all 
he  seemed  himself  a  bright  torch  of  valour  and 
war,  more  pure  and  clear  than  polished  steel. 
He  then  beckoned  to  one  of  his  knights,  who 
hastened  away  and  returned  bringing  Conco- 
bar's  own  shield  and  spears  and  sword  out  of 
the  Tec  Brae,  where  they  were  kept,  an  equip- 
ment in  reserve.  And  Cuculain  shook  them  and 
bent  them  and  clashed  them  together,  but  they 
held  firm. 

**  These  are  good  arms,  O  son  of  Nessa,"  said 
Cuculain. 

"  Choose  now  thy  charioteer,"  said  the  King, 
"for  I  will  give  thee  also  war-horses  and  a 
chariot." 

He  caused  to  pass  before  Cuculain  all  the  boys 
who  in  many  and  severe  tests  had  proved  their 
proficiency  in  charioteering,  in  the  management 
and  tending  of  steeds,  in  the  care  of  weapons 
and    steed-harness,    and    all    that    related    to 


THE  KNIGHTING   OF   CUCULAIN  125 

charioteering  science.  Amongst  them  was  Laeg, 
with  a  pale  face  and  dejected,  his  eyes  red  and 
his  cheeks  stained  from  much  weeping.  Cucu- 
lain  laughed  when  he  saw  him,  and  called  him 
forth  from  the  rest,  naming  him  by  his  name 
with  a  loud,  clear  voice,  heard  to  the  utmost 
limit  of  the  great  host. 

"  There  was  fear  upon  thee,"  said  Cuculain. 

"  There  is  fear  Upon  thyself,"  answered  Laeg. 
*'  It  was  in  thy  mind  that  I  would  refuse." 

"  Nay,  there  is  no  such  fear  upon  me,"  said 
Cuculain. 

"Then  there  is  fear  upon  me,"  said  Laeg. 
*'  A  charioteer  needs  a  champion  who  is  stout 
and  a  valiant  and  faithful.  Yea,  truly  there  is 
fear  upon  me,"  answered  Laeg. 

"  Verily,  dear  comrade  and  bed-fellow,"  ans- 
wered Cuculain,  "it  is  through  me  that  thou 
shalt  get  thy  death-wound,  and  I  say  not  this 
as  a  vaunt,  but  as  a  prophecy." 

And  that  prophecy  was  fulfilled,  for  the  spear 
that  slew  Laeg  went  through  his  master. 

After  that  Laeg  stood  by  Cuculain's  side  and 
held  his  peace,  but  his  face  shone  with  excess 
of  joy  and  pride.  He  wore  a  light  graceful 
frock  of  deerskin,  joined  in  the  front  with  a 
twine  of  bronze  wire,  and  a  short,  dark-red  cape. 


126  THE   COMING   OF  CUCDLAIN 

secured  by  a  pin  of  gold  with  a  ring  to  it.  A 
band  of  gold  thread  confined  his  auburn  hair, 
rising  into  a  peak  behind  his  head.  In  his 
hands  he  held  a  goad  of  polished  red-yew, 
furnished  with  a  crooked  hand-grip  of  gold,  and 
pointed  with  shining  bronze,  and  where  the 
bronze  met  the  timber  there  was  a  circlet  of 
diamond  of  the  diamonds  of  Banba.  He  had 
also  a  short-handled  scourge  with  a  haft  of 
walrus  tooth,  and  the  rope,  cord,  and  lash  of 
that  scourge  were  made  of  delicate  and  delicately- 
twisted  thread  of  copper.  This  equipment  was 
the  equipment  of  a  proved  charioteer ;  the 
apprentices  wore  only  grey  capes  with  white 
fringes,  fastened  by  loops  of  red  cord. 

Laeg  was  one  of  three  brothers,  all  famous 
charioteers.  Id  and  Sheeling  were  the  others. 
They  were  all  three  sons  of  the  King  of  Gabra, 
whose  bright  dun  arose  upon  a  green  and  sloping 
hill  over  against  Tara  towards  the  rising  of  the 
sun.  Thence  sprang  the  beautiful  stream  of  the 
Nemnich,  rich  in  lilies  and  reeds  and  bulrushes, 
which  to-day  men  call  the  Nanny  Water.  Laeg 
was  grey-eyed  and  freckled. 

Then  there  were  led  forward  by  two  strong 
knights  a  pair  of  great  and  spirited  horses  and 
a  splendid  war-car.     The  King  said,  "  They  are 


THE  KNIGHTING  OF  CUCULAIN  ll'j 

thine,  dear  nephew.  Well  I  know  that  neither 
thou,  nor  Laeg,  will  be  a  dishonour  to  this  war 
equipage." 

Cuculain  sprang  into  the  car,  and  standing 
with  legs  apart,  he  stamped  from  side  to  side  and 
shook  the  car  mightily,  till  the  axle  brake,  and 
the  car  itself  was  broken  in  pieces. 

"  It  is  not  a  good  chariot,"  said  the  lad. 

Another  was  led  forward,  and  he  broke  it  in 
like  manner. 

*'  Give  me  a  sound  chariot,  High  Lord  of  the 
Clanna  Rury,  or  give  me  none,"  he  said.  "  No 
prudent  warrior  would  fight  from  such  brittle 
foothold." 

He  brake  in  succession  nine  war  chariots,  the 
greatest  and  strongest  in  Emain.  When  he 
broke  the  ninth  the  horses  of  Macha  neighed 
from  their  stable.  Great  fear  fell  upon  the  host 
when  they  heard  that  unusual  noise  and  the 
reverberation  of  it  in  the  woods  and  hills. 

"  Let  those  horses  be  harnessed  to  the  Chariot 
of  Macha,"  cried  Concobar,  "  and  let  Laeg,  son 
of  the  King  of  Gabra,  drive  them  hither,  for 
those  are  the  horses  and  that  the  chariot  which 
shall  be  given  this  day  to  Cuculain." 

Then,  son  of  Sualtam,  how  in  thy  guileless 
breast  thy  heart  leaped,  when  thou  heardest 


tzB  THE  COMING  OF  CUCULAIN 

the  thundering  of  the  great  war-car  and  the 
wild  neighing  of  the  immortal  steeds,  as  they 
broke  from  the  dark  stable  into  the  clear-shining 
light  of  day,  and  heard  behind  them  the  ancient 
roaring  of  the  brazen  wheels  as  in  the  days  when 
they  bore  forth  Macha  and  her  martial  groom 
against  the  giants  of  old,  and  mightily  estab- 
lished in  Eiriu  the  Red  Branch  of  the  Ultonians  ! 
Soon  they  rushed  to  view  from  the  rear  of 
Emain,  speeding  forth  impetuously  out  of  the 
hollow-sounding  ways  of  the  city  and  the  echo- 
ing palaces  into  the  open,  and  behind  them  in 
the  great  car  green  and  gold,  above  the  many- 
twinkling  wheels,  the  charioteer,  with  floating 
mantle,  girt  round  the  temples  with  the  gold 
fillet  of  his  office,  leaning  backwards  and  side- 
ways as  he  laboured  to  restrain  their  fury  un- 
restrainable  ;  a  grey  long-maned  steed,  whale- 
bellied,  broad-chested,  with  mane  like  flying 
foam,  under  one  silver  yoke,  and  a  black  lus- 
trous, tufty-maned  steed  under  the  other,  such 
steeds  as  in  power,  size,  and  beauty  the  earth 
never  produced  before  and  never  will  produce 
again. 

Like  a  hawk  swooping  along  the  face  of  a  cliff 
when  the  wind  is  high,  or  like  the  rush  of  March 
wind  over  the  smooth  plain,  or  like  the  fieetness 


THE   KNIGHTING   OF   CUCULAIN  I29 

of  the  stag  roused  from  his  lair  by  the  hounds  and 
covering  his  first  field,  was  the  rush  of  those 
steeds  when  they  had  broken  through  the 
restraint  of  the  charioteer,  as  though  they  gal- 
loped over  fiery  flags,  so  that  the  earth  shook 
and  trembled  with  the  velocity  of  their  motion, 
and  all  the  time  the  great  car  brayed  and  shrieked 
as  the  wheels  of  solid  and  glittering  bronze 
went  round,  and  strange  cries  and  exclamations 
were  heard,  for  they  were  demons  that  had  their 
abode  in  that  car. 

The  charioteer  restrained  the  steeds  before  the 
assembly,  but  nay-the-less  a  deep  purr,  like 
the  purr  of  a  tiger,  proceeded  from  the  axle. 
Then  the  whole  assembly  lifted  up  their  voices 
and  shouted  for  Cuculain,  and  he  himself, 
Cuculain,  the  son  of  Sualtam,  sprang  into  his 
chariot,  all  armed,  with  a  cry  as  of  a  warrior 
springing  into  his  chariot  in  the  battle,  and  he 
stood  erect  and  brandished  his  spears,  and  the 
war  sprites  of  the  Gael  shouted  along  with  him, 
for  the  Bocanahs  and  Bananahs  and  the  Geniti 
Glindi,  the  wild  people  of  the  glens,  and  the 
demons  of  the  air,  roared  around  him,  when  first 
the  great  warrior  of  the  Gael,  his  battle-arms 
in  his  hands,  stood  equipped  for  war  in  his 
chariot  before  all  the  warriors  of  his  tribe,  the 


130  THE  COMING  OF  CUCULAIN 

kings  of  the  Clanna  Rury  and  the  people  of 
Emain  Macha.  Then,  too,  there  sounded  from 
the  Tec  Brae  the  boom  of  shields,  and  the 
clashing  of  swords  and  the  cries  and  shouting  of 
the  Tuatha  De  Danan,  who  dwelt  there  per- 
petually ;  and  Lu  the  Long-Handed,  the  slayer 
of  Balor,  the  destroyer  of  the  Fomoroh,  the 
immortal,  the  invisible,  the  maker  and  decorator 
of  the  Firmament,  whose  hound  was  the  sun  and 
whose  son  the  viewless  wind,  thundered  from 
heaven  and  bent  his  sling  five-hued  against 
the  clouds  ;  and  the  son  of  the  illimitable  Lir^ 
in  his  mantle  -blue  and  green,  foam-fringed 
passed  through  the  assembly  with  a  roar  of  far- 
off  innumerable  waters,  and  the  Mor  Reega 
stood  in  the  midst  with  a  foot  on  either  side  of  the 
plain,  and  shouted  with  the  shout  of  a  host,  so 
that  the  Ultonians  fell  down  like  reaped  grass 
with  their  faces  to  the  earth,  on  account  of  the 
presence  of  the  Mor  Reega,  and  on  account  of 
the  omens  and  great  signs. 

Cuculain  bade  Laeg  let  the  steeds  go.  They 
went  like  a  storm  and  three  times  encircled  Emain 
Macha.  It  was  the  custom  of  the  Ultonians  to 
march  thrice  round  Emain  ere  they  went  forth 
to  war. 

^Mananan    mac    I^ir,    the    sea-god. 


THE  KNIGHTING   OP  CUCULAIN  I3I 

Then  said  Cuculain — "  Whither  leads  the  great 
road  yonder  ?  " 

"  To  Ath-na-Forairey  and  the  borders  of  the 
Crave  Rue." 

"  And  wherefore  is  it  called  the  Ford  of  the 
Watchings  ?  "  said  Cuculain. 

"  Because,"  answered  Laeg,  "  there  is  always 
one  of  the  King's  knights  there,  keeping  watch 
and  ward  over  the  gate  of  the  province." 

"  Guide  thither  the  horses,"  said  Cuculain, 
"  for  I  will  not  lay  aside  my  arms  till  I  have  first 
reddened  them  in  the  blood  of  the  enemies  of 
my  nation.  Who  is  it  that  is  over  the  ward 
there  this  day  ?  " 

*'  It  is  Conall  Camach,"  said  Laeg. 

As  they  drew  nigh  to  the  ford,  the  watchman 
from  his  high  watch-tower  on  the  west  side  of 
the  dun  sent  forth  a  loud  and  clear  voice — 

"  There  is  a  chariot  coming  to  us  from  Emain 
Macha,"  he  said.  "  The  chariot  is  of  great  size  ; 
I  have  not  seen  its  like  in  all  Eiriu.  In  front  of 
it  are  two  horses,  one  black  and  one  white.  Great 
is  their  trampling  and  their  glory  and  the  shaking 
of  their  heads  and  necks.  I  liken  their  progress 
to  the  fall  of  water  from  a  high  cliff  or  the 
sweeping  of  dust  and  beech-tree  leaves  over  a 
plain,  when  the  March  wind  blows  hard,  or  to 


132  THE  COMING   OF   CUCULAIN 

the  rapidity  of  thunder  ratthng  over  the  firma- 
ment. A  man  would  say  that  there  were  eight 
legs  under  each  horse,  so  rapid  and  indistinguish- 
able is  the  motion  of  their  limbs  and  hoofs. 
Identify  those  horses,  O  Conall,  and  that  chariot, 
for  to  me  they  are  unknown." 

"  And  to  me  Ukewise,"  said  Conall.  "  Who 
are  in  the  chariot  ?  Moderate,  O  man,  the 
extravagance  of  thy  language,  for  thou  art  not 
a  prophet  but  a  watchman." 

**  There  are  two  beardless  youths  in  the 
chariot,"  answered  the  watchman,  "  but  I  am 
unable  to  identify  them  on  account  of  the  dust 
and  the  rapid  motion  and  the  steam  of  the  horses. 
I  think  the  charioteer  is  Laeg,  the  son  of  the  King 
of  Gabra,  for  I  know  his  manner  of  driving. 
The  boy  who  sits  in  front  of  him  and  below  him 
on  the  champion's  seat  I  do  not  know,  but  he 
shines  like  a  star  in  the  cloud  of  dust  and 
steam." 

Then  a  young  man  who  stood  near  to  Conall 
Carna,  wearing  a  short,  red  cloak  with  a  blue 
hood  to  it,  and  a  tassel  at  the  point  of  the  hood, 
said  to  Conall — 

"  If  it  be  my  brother  that  charioteers  sure  am 
I  that  it  is  Cuculain  who  is  in  the  fighter's  seat, 
for  many  a  time  have  I  heard  Laeg  utter  foul 


THE  KNIGHTING   OF  CUCULAIN  1 33 

scorn  of  the  Red  Branch,  none  excepted,  when 
compared  with  Sualtam's  son.  For  no  other 
than  him  would  he  deign  to  charioteer.  Truly 
though  he  is  my  own  brother  there  is  not  such 
a  boaster  in  the  North." 

Then  the  watchman  cried  out  again — 
"  Yea,  the  charioteer  is  the  son  of  the  King  of 
Gabra,  and  it  is  Cuculain,  the  son  of  Sualtam, 
who  sits  in  the  fighter's  seat.  He  has  Conco- 
bar's  own  shield  on  his  breast,  and  his  two  spears 
in  his  hand.  Over  Bray  Ros,  over  Brainia, 
they  are  coming  along  the  highway,  by  the  foot 
of  the  Town  of  the  Tree ;  it  is  gifted  with  vic- 
tories." 

*'  Have  done,  O  talkative  man,"  cried  Conall, 
*'  whose  words  are  like  the  words  of  a  seer,  or 
the  full- voiced  intonement  of  a  chief  bard." 

When  the  chariot  came  to  the  ford,  Conall  was 
amazed  at  the  horses  and  the  chariot,  but  he  dis- 
sembled his  amazement  before  his  people,  and 
when  he  saw  Cuculain  armed,  he  laughed  and 
said, — 

"  Hath  the  boy  indeed  taken  arms  ?  " 
And  Cuculain  said,  "  It  is  as  thou  seest,  0  son 
of  Amargin  ;  and  moreover,  I  have  sworn  not  to 
let  them  back  into  the  Chamber-of-Many-Colours^ 

^  Tec  Brae  or  Speckled  House,  the  armoury  of  the  Ultonians. 


134  "^^^  COMING   OF   CUCULAIN 

until  I  shall  have  first  reddened  them  in  the  blood 
of  the  enemies  of  Ulla." 

Then  Conall  ceased  laughing  and  said,  *'  Not 
so,  Setanta,  for  verily  thou  shalt  not  be  per- 
mitted ;  "  and  the  great  Champion  sprang  for- 
ward to  lay  his  fearless,  never-foiled,  and  all 
conquering  hands  on  the  bridles  of  the  horses, 
but  at  a  nod  from  Cuculain,  Laeg  let  the  steeds 
go,  and  Conall  sprang  aside  out  of  the  way,  so 
terrible  was  the  appearance  of  the  horses  as  they 
reared  against  him.  "  Harness  my  horses  and 
yoke  my  chariot,"  cried  Conall,  "  for  if  this 
mad  boy  goes  into  the  enemies'  country  and 
meets  with  harm  there,  verily  I  shall  never  be 
forgiven  by  the  Ultonians." 

His  horses  were  harnessed  and  his  chariot 
yoked, — illustrious  too  were  those  horses,  named 
and  famed  in  many  songs — and  Conall  and  Ide 
in  their  chariot  dashed  through  the  ford  en- 
veloped with  rainbow-painted  clouds  of  foam 
and  spray,  and  like  hawks  on  the  wing  they 
skimmed  the  plain,  pursuing  the  boys.  Laeg 
heard  the  roar  and  trampling,  and  looking  back 
over  his  shoulder,  said,-— 

"  They  are  after  us,  dear  master,  namely  the 
great  son  of  Amargin  and  my  haughty  brother 
Ide,  who  hath  ever  borne  himself  to  me  as  though 


THE  KNIGHTING   OF   CUCULAIN  I35 

I  were  a  wayward  child.  They  would  spoil  upon 
us  this  our  brave  foray.  But  they  will  overtake 
the  wind  sooner  than  they  will  overtake  the 
Liath  Macha  and  Black  Shanglan,  whose  going 
truly  is  like  the  going  of  eagles.  O  storm-footed 
steeds,  great  is  my  love  for  you,  and  inex- 
pressible my  pride  in  your  might  and  your  beauty, 
your  speed  and  your  terror,  and  sweet  docility 
and  affection." 

**  Nevertheless,  O  Laeg,"  said  Cuculain, 
**  slacken  now  their  going,  for  that  Champion 
will  be  an  impediment  to  us  in  our  challengings 
and  our  fightings  ;  for  when  we  stop  for  that 
purpose  he  will  overtake  us,  and,  be  our  feats 
what  they  may,  his  and  not  ours  will  be  the  glory. 
Slacken  the  going  of  the  horses,  for  we  must  rid 
ourselves  of  the  annoyance  and  the  pursuit  of 
these  gadflies." 

Laeg  slackened  the  pace,  and  as  they  went 
Cuculain  leaped  lightly  from  his  seat  and  as 
lightly  bounded  back  again,  holding  a  great 
pebble  in  his  hand,  such  as  a  man  using  all  his 
strength  could  with  difficulty  raise  from  the 
ground,  and  sat  still,  rejoicing  in  his  purpose, 
and  grasping  the  pebble  with  his  five  fingers. 

Conall  and  Ide  came  up  to  them  after  that, 
and  Conall,  as  the    senior  and  the  best  man 


136  THE  COMING  OF  CUCULAIN 

amongst  the  Ultonians,  clamorously  called  to 
them  to  turn  back  straightway,  or  he  would 
hough  their  horses,  or  draw  the  linch-pins  of 
their  wheels,  or  in  some  other  manner  bring  their 
foray  to  naught.  Cuculain  thereupon  stood  up- 
right in  the  car,  and  so  standing,  with  feet  apart 
to  steady  him  in  his  throwing  and  in  his  aim, 
dashed  the  stone  upon  the  yoke  of  Conall's 
chariot  between  the  heads  of  the  horses  and 
broke  the  yoke,  so  that  the  pole  fell  to  the  ground 
and  the  chariot  tilted  forward  violently.  Then 
the  charioteer  fell  amongst  the  horses,  and 
Conall  Carna,  the  beauty  of  the  Ultonians  the 
battle-winning  and  ever-victorious  son  of 
Amargin,  was  shot  out  in  front  upon  the  road, 
and  fell  there  upon  his  left  shoulder,  and  his 
beautiful  raiment  was  defiled  with  dust ;  and 
when  he  arose  his  left  hand  hung  by  his  side,  for 
the  shoulder-bone  was  driven  from  the  socket, 
owing  to  the  violence  of  the  fall. 

"  I  swear  by  all  my  gods,"  he  cried,  "  that  if  a 
step  would  save  thy  head  from  the  hands  of  the 
men  of  Meath,  I  would  not  take  it." 

Cuculain  laughed  and  replied,  "  Good,  O 
Conall,  and  who  asked  thee  to  take  it,  or  craved 
of  thee  any  succour  or  countenance  ?  Was  it  a 
straight  shot  ?     Are  there  the  materials,  of  a 


THE  KNIGHTING   OF   CUCULAIN  I37 

fighter  in  me  at  all,  dost  thou  think  ?  Thou 
art  in  my  debt  now  too,  O  Conall.  I  have 
saved  thee  a  broken  vow,  for  it  is  one  of  the  oaths 
of  our  Order  not  to  enter  hostile  territory  with 
brittle  chariot-gear  !  " 

Then  the  boys  laughed  at  him  again,  and  Laeg 
let  go  the  steeds,  and  very  soon  they  were  out  of 
sight.  Conall  returned  slowly  with  his  broken 
chariot  to  Ath-na-Forairey  and  sent  for  Fingin 
of  Slieve  Fuad,  who  was  the  most  cunning  phy- 
sician and  most  expert  of  bone-setters  amongst 
the  Ultonians.  Conall's  messengers  experienced 
no  difficulty  in  finding  the  house  of  the  leech, 
which  was  very  recognisable  on  account  of  its 
shape  and  appearance,  and  because  it  had  wide 
open  doors,  four  in  number,  affording  a  liberal 
ingress  and  free  thoroughfare  to  all  the  winds. 
Also  a  stream  of  pure  water  ran  through  the 
house,  derived  from  a  well  of  healing  properties, 
which  sprang  from  the  side  of  the  uninhabited 
hill.  Such  were  the  signs  that  showed  the  house 
of  a  leech. 

When  they  drew  nigh  they  heard  the  voice  of 
one  man  talking  and  of  another  who  laughed. 
It  happened  that  that  day  there  had  been  borne 
thither  a  champion,  in  whose  body  there  was  not 
one  small  bone  unbroken  or  uninjured.     The 


138  THE  COMING  OF  CUCULAIN 

man's  bruises  and  fractures  had  been  dressed  and 
set  by  Fingin  and  his  intelUgent  and  deft-handed 
apprentices,  and  he  lay  now  in  his  bed  of  heaUng 
listening  joyfully  to  the  conversation  of  the 
leech,  who  was  beyond  all  others  eloquent  and 
of  most  agreeable  discourse. 

When  Conall's  messengers  related  the  reason 
of  their  coming,  Fingin  cried  to  his  young  men, 
**  Harness  me  my  horses  and  yoke  my  chariot. 
There  are  few,"  he  said,  "  in  Erin  for  whom  I 
would  leave  my  own  house,  but  that  youth  is 
one  of  them.  His  father  Amargin  was  well 
known  to  me.  He  was  a  warrior  grim  and  dour 
exceedingly,  and  he  ever  said  concerning  the 
boy,  *  This  hound's  whelp  that  I  have  gotten 
is  too  fine  and  sleek  to  hold  bloody  gaps  or  hunt 
down  a  noble  prey.  He  will  be  a  women's  play- 
mate and  not  a  peer  amongst  Heroes.'  And  that 
fear  was  ever  upon  him  till  the  day  when  Conall 
came  red  out  of  the  Valley  of  the  Thrush,  and  his 
track  thence  to  Rath- Amargin  was  one  straight 
path  of  blood,  and  he  with  his  shield-arm  hacked 
to  the  bone,  his  sword-arm  swollen  and  bursting, 
and  the  flame  of  his  valour  burning  bright  in  his 
splendid  eyes.  Then,  for  the  first  time,  the  old 
man  smiled  upon  him,  and  he  said,  '  That  arm, 
my  son,  has  done  a  man's  work  to-day.'  " 


CHAPTER  XV 

ACROSS  THE    HEARINGS   AND   AWAY 

"  Say,  rushed  the  bold  eagle  exultingly  forth, 
From  his  home,  in  the  dark  roUing  clouds  of  the  North  ?  " 

Campbei,!;. 

As  for  the  boys,  they  proceeded  joyfully  after 
that  pleasant  skirmish  and  friendly  encounter, 
both  on  account  of  the  discomfiture  of  him  who 
was  reckoned  the  prime  champion  of  the  Ul- 
tonians,  and  because  they  were  at  large  in  Erin, 
with  no  one  to  direct  them,  or  to  whom  they 
should  render  an  account ;  and  their  happiness, 
too,  was  increased  by  the  mettle,  power  and 
gallant  action  of  the  steeds,  and  by  the  clanking 
of  the  harness  and  the  brazen  chains,  and  the 
ringing  of  the  weapons  of  war,  and  the.  roar  of 
the  revolving  wheels,  and  owing  to  the  velocity 
of  their  motion  and  the  rushing  of  the  wind  upon 
their  temples  and  through  their  hair. 

Then  Cuculain  stood  up  in  the  chariot,  and 
surveyed  the  land  on  all  sides,  and  said — 

"  What  is  that  great,  firm-based,  indestruc- 
tible mountain  upon  our  left  hand,  one  of  a  noble 

139 


140  THE  COMING  OF  CUCULAIN 

range  which,  rising  from  the  green  plain,  runs 
eastward.  The  last  peak  there  is  the  mountain 
of  which  I  speak,  whose  foot  is  in  the  Ictian  sea 
and  whose  head  neighbours  the  firmament." 

And  Laeg  said,  "  Men  call  it  Slieve  Modurn, 
after  a  giant  of  the  elder  time,  when  men  were 
mightier  and  greater  than  they  are  now.  He 
was  of  the  children  of  Brogan,  uncle  of  Milesius, 
and  his  brothers  were  Fuad  and  Eadar  and 
Breagh,  and  all  these  being  very  great  men 
are  commemorated  in  the  names  of  noble  moun- 
tains and  sea-dividing  promontories." 

"  Guide  thither  the  horses,"  said  Cuculain. 
*'  It  is  right  that  those  who  take  the  road  against 
an  enemy  should  first  spy  out  the  land,  choosing 
judiciously  their  point  of  onset,  and  Slieve 
Modurn  yonder  commands  a  most  brave  pros- 
pect." 

Laeg  did  so.  There,  in  a  green  valley,  they 
unharnessed  the  horses  and  tethered  them  to 
graze,  and  they  themselves  climbed  the  moun- 
tain and  stood  upon  the  top  in  the  most  clear 
air.  Thence  Laeg  showed  him  the  green  plain 
of  Meath  extending  far  and  wide,  and  the  great 
streams  of  Meath  where  they  ran,  the  Boyne 
and  the  Blackwater,  the  Liffey  and  the  Royal 
Rye,  and  his  own  stream  the  Nanny  Water, 


ACKOSS   THE  HEARINGS   AND  AWAY  14I 

clear  and  sparkling,  which  was  very  dear  to 
Laeg,  because  he  had  snared  fish  there  and 
erected  dams,  and  had  done  divers  boyish  feats 
upon  its  shores. 

Cuculain  said,  "  I  see  a  beautiful  green  hill, 
shaped  like  an  inverted  ewer,  on  the  south  shore 
of  the  Boyne.  There  is  a  noble  palace  there.  I 
see  the  flashing  of  its  lime-white  sides,  and  the 
colours  of  the  variegated  roof  and  around  it 
are  other  beautiful  houses.  How  is  that  city 
named  O  Laeg,  and  who  dwells  there  ?  " 

"  That  is  the  hill  of  Temair,"  answered  Laeg, 
*'  Tara's  high  citadel.  Well  may  that  city  be 
beautiful,  for  the  seat  of  Erin's  high  sovereignty 
is  there.  The  man  who  holds  it  is  Arch-king  of 
all  Erin." 

"  Westward  by  south,"  said  Cuculain,  "  I  see 
another  city  widely  built,  and  unenclosed  by 
ramparts  and  defensive  works,  and  hard  by  there 
is  a  most  smooth  plain.  At  one  end  of  the  plain 
I  see  a  glittering,  and  also  at  the  other," 

And  Laeg  said,  "  That  is  the  hill  of  Talteen, 
so  named  because  the  mother  of  far-shooting 
Lu,  the  Deliverer,  is  worshipped  there,  and  every 
year,  when  the  leaves  change  their  colour,  games 
and  contests  of  skill  are  celebrated  there  in  her 
honour.     So  it  was  enjoined  on  the  men  of  Erin 


142  THE  COMING  OP  CUCULAIN 

by  her  famous  son.  Chariot  races  are  run  there 
on  that  smooth  plain.  The  ghttering  points  on 
either  side  of  it  are  the  racing  pillars  of  burnished 
brass,  the  starting-post,  and  that  which  the 
charioteers  graze  with  the  glowing  axle.  Many 
a  noble  chariot  has  been  broken,  and  many  a 
gallant  youth  slain  at  the  further  of  those  twain. 
It  was  there  that  Concobar  raced  his  steeds 
against  the  woman  with  child,  concerning  which 
things  there  are  rumours  and  prophesyings." 

So  Cuculain  questioned  Laeg  concerning  the 
cities  of  Meath,  and  concerning  the  noble  raths 
and  duns  where  the  kings  and  lords  and  chief 
men  of  Meath  dwelt  prosperously,  rejoicing  in 
their  great  wealth.  Cuculain  said,  "  None  of 
these  kings  and  lords  and  chief  men  whom  thou 
hast  enumerated  have  at  any  time  injured  my 
nation,  and  there  is  not  one  upon  whom  I  might 
rightly  take  vengeance.  But  I  see  one  other 
splendid  dun,  and  of  this  thou  hast  said  no  word, 
though  thrice  I  have  questioned  thee  concerning 
it." 

Laeg  grew  pale  at  these  words,  and  he  said, 

"  What  dun  is  that,  my  master  ?  " 

Cuculain  said,  "  O  fox  that  thou  art,  right  well 

thou  knowest.     It  is  not  a  little  or  mean  one,  but 

great,  proud,  and  conspicuous,  and  vauntingly 


ACROSS   THE  HEARINGS   AND  AWAY  143 

it  rears  its  head  like  a  man  who  has  never 
known  defeat,  but  on  the  contrary  has  caused 
many  widows  to  lament.  Its  white  sides  flashed 
against  the  dark  waters  of  the  Boyne,  and  its 
bright  roofs  glitter  above  the  green  woods. 
There  is  a  stream  that  runs  into  the  Boyne 
beside  it,  and  there  are  bulwarks  around  it, 
and  great  strong  barriers." 

Laeg  answered,  "  That  is  the  dun  of  the  sons 
of  Nectan." 

"  Let  us  now  leave  Slieve  Modurn,"  said 
Cuculain,  "  and  guide  thither  my  horses,  for  I 
shall  lay  waste  that  dun,  and  burn  it  with  fire, 
after  having  slain  the  men  who  dwell  there." 

Then  Laeg  clasped  his  comrade's  knees,  and 
said,  "  Take  the  road,  dear  master,  against  the 
royalest  dun  in  all  Meath,  but  pass  by  that  dun. 
The  men  are  not  alive  to-day  who  at  any  time 
approached  it  with  warlike  intent.  Those  who 
dwell  there  are  sorcerers  and  enchanters,  lords 
of  all  the  arts  of  poison  and  of  war." 

Cuculain  answered,  "  I  swear  by  my  gods 
that  Dun-Mic-Nectan  is  the  only  dun  in  all 
Meath  which  shall  hear  my  warlike  challenge 
this  day.  Descend  the  hill  now,  for  verily 
thither  shalt  thou  fare,  and  that  whether  thou 
art  willing  or  unwilling." 


144  "^^^  COMING   OF  CUCULAIN 

Now,  for  the  first  time,  his  valour  and  his 
destructive  wrath  were  kindled  in  the  soul  of 
Dethcaen's  nursling.  Laeg  saw  the  tokens  of 
it,  and  feared  and  obeyed.  Unwillingly  he  came 
down  the  slopes  of  Slieve  Modurn,  and  un- 
willingly harnessed  the  horses  and  yoked  the 
chariot,  and  yoked  the  horses.  Southwards, 
then,  they  fared  swiftly  through  the  night,  and 
the  intervening  nations  heard  them  as  they  went. 
When  they  arrived  at  the  dun  of  the  sons  of 
Nectan  it  was  twilight  and  the  dawning  of  the 
day.  Before  the  dun  there  was  a  green  and 
spacious  lawn  in  full  view  of  the  palace,  and  on 
the  lawn  a  pillar  and  on  the  pillar  a  huge  disc 
of  shining  bronze.  Cuculain  descended  and 
examined  the  disc,  and  there  was  inscribed  on  it 
in  ogham  a  curse  upon  the  man  who  should  enter 
that  lawn  and  depart  again  without  battle  and 
single  combat  with  the  men  of  the  dun.  Cuculain 
took  the  disc  from  its  place  and  cast  it  from 
him  southwards.  The  brazen  disc  skimmed  low 
across  the  plain  and  then  soared  on  high  until 
it  showed  to  those  who  looked  a  full,  bright  face, 
like  the  moon's,  after  which,  pausing  one 
moment,  it  fell  sheer  down  and  sank  into 
the  dark  waters  of  the  Boyne,  without  a 
sound,  or  at  all  disturbing  the  tranquil  surface 


ACROSS   THE   MEARINGS   AND   AWAY  145 

of  the  great  stream,  and  was  no  more  seen. 
i  "  That  bright  lure,"  said  Cuculain,  "  shall  no 
more  be  a  cause  of  death  to  brave  men.  This 
lawn,  O  Laeg,  is  surely  the  richest  of  all  the  lawns 
in  the  world.  Close-en  woven  and  thick  is  the 
mantle  of  short  green  grass  which  it  wears, 
decked  all  over  with  red-petalled  daisies  and 
bright  flowers  more  numerous  than  the  stars  on 
a  frosty  night." 

"  That  is  not  surprising,"  said  Laeg,  *'  for 
the  lawn  is  enriched  and  made  fat  by  the  blood 
that  has  been  shed  abundantly  now  for  a  long 
time,  the  blood  of  heroes  and  valiant  men — 
slain  here  by  the  people  of  the  dun.  Very 
rich  too,  are  the  men,  both  on  account  of  their 
strippings  of  the  slain,  and  on  account  of  the 
druidic  well  of  magic  which  is  within  the  dun. 
For  the  people  come  from  far  and  near  to  pay 
their  vows  at  that  well,  and  they  give  costly 
presents  to  those  sorcerers  who  are  priests  and 
custodians  of  the  same." 

"  Noble,  indeed,  is  the  dun,"  said  Cuculain. 
"  But  it  is  yet  early,  for  the  sun  is  not  yet  risen 
from  his  red-flaming  eastern  couch,  and  the 
people  of  the  dun,  too,  are  in  their  heavy  slumber. 
I  would  repose  now  for  a  while  and  rest  myself 
before   the   battles   and   hard   combats   which 


146  THE  COMING  OF  CUCULAIN 

await  me  this  day.  Wherefore,  good  Laeg, 
letdown  the  sides  and  seats  of  the  chariot,  that 
I  may  repose  myself  for  a  little  and  take  a  short 
sleep." 

For  just  then  precisely  an  unwonted  drow- 
siness and  desire  for  slumber  possessed 
Cuculain. 

"  Witless  and  devoid  of  sense  art  thou,"  an- 
swered Laeg,  "  for  who  but  an  idiot  would  think 
of  sweet  sleep  and  agreeable  repose  in  a  hostile 
territory,  much  more  in  full  view  of  those  who 
look  out  from  a  foeman's  dun,  and  that  dun, 
Dun-Mic-Nectan  ?  " 

"Do  as  I  bid  thee,"  said  Cuculain.  *'  For 
one  day,  if  for  no  other,  thou  shalt  obey  my 
commands." 

Laeg  unyoked  the  chariot  and  turned  the  great 
steeds  forth  to  graze  on  the  druidic  lawn,  which 
was  never  done  before  at  any  time.  He  let 
down  the  chariot  and  arranged  it  as  a  couch, 
and  his  young  master  laid  himself  therein,  com- 
posing his  limbs  and  pillowing  tranquilly  his 
head,  and  he  closed  his  immortal  eyes.  Very 
soon  sweet  slumber  possessed  him.  Laeg  mean- 
while kept  watch  and  ward,  and  his  great  heart 
in  his  breast  continually  trembled  like  the  leaf 
of  the  poplar  tree,  or  like  a  rush  in  a  flooded 


ACROSS   THE   HEARINGS   AND  AWAY  147 

stream.  The  awakening  birds  unconscious  sang 
in  the  trees,  the  dew  ghttered  on  the  grass ; 
hard  by  the  royal  Boyne  rolled  silently.  The  son 
of  Sualtam  slumbered  without  sound  or  motion, 
and  the  charioteer  stood  beside  him  upright,  like 
a  pillar,  his  grey  bright  eyes  fixed  upon  the  house 
of  the  sorcerers,  the  merciless,  bloody,  and  ever- 
victorious  sons  of  Nectan,  the  son  of  Labrad. 

Of  the  people  of  the  dun,  Foil,  son  of  Nectan, 
was  the  first  to  awake.  It  was  his  custom  to 
wander  forth  by  himself  early  in  the  morning, 
devising  snares  and  stratagems  by  which  he 
might  take  and  destroy  men  at  his  leisure.  He 
was  more  cruel  than  anything.  By  him  the 
great  door  of  the  dun,  bound  and  rivetted  with 
brass,  was  flung  open.  With  one  hand  he 
backshot  the  bar,  which  rushed  into  its  chamber 
with  a  roar  and  crash  as  of  a  great  house 
when  it  falls,  and  with  the  other  he  drew 
back  the  door.  It  grated  on  its  brazen  hinges, 
and  on  the  iron  threshold,  with  a  noise  like 
thunder.  Then  Foil  stood  black  and  huge  in 
the  wide  doorway  of  the  dun,  and  he  looked  at 
Laeg  and  Laeg  looked  at  him.  The  man  was  ugly 
and  fierce  of  aspect.  His  hair  was  thick  and 
black ;  he  was  bull-necked  and  large-eared. 
His   mantle   was   black,    bordered    with    dark 


148  THE  COMING  OF  CUCULAIN 

red ;  his  tunic,  a  dirty  yellow,  was  splashed  with 
recent  blood.  There  were  great  shoes  on  his 
feet  soled  with  wood  and  iron.  In  his  hand  he 
bore  a  staff  of  quick-beam,  as  it  were  a  full- 
grown  tree  without  its  branches.  He  being 
thus,  strode  forward  in  an  ungainly  manner  to 
Laeg,  and  with  a  surly  voice  bade  him  drive  the 
horses  off  the  lawn. 

*'  Drive  them  off  thyself,"  said  Laeg. 

He  sought  to  do  that,  but  owing  to  the  be- 
haviour of  the  steeds,  he  desisted  right  soon,  and 
turned  again  to  Laeg. 

"  Who  is  the  sleeping  youth  ?  "  said  he,  "  and 
wherefore  hath  he  come  hither  in  an  evil  hour  ?" 

"  He  is  a  certain  mild  and  gentle  youth  of  the 
Ultonians,"  replied  Laeg,  "  who  y ester  morning 
prosperously  assumed  his  arms  of  chivalry  for 
the  first  time,  and  hath  come  hither  to  prove  his 
valour  upon  the  sons  of  Nectan." 

*'  Many  youths  of  his  nation  have  come  hither 
with  the  same  intent,"  said  the  giant,  "  but  they 
did  not  return." 

*'  This  youth  will,"  said  Laeg,  "  after  having 
slain  the  sons  of  Nectan,  and  after  having  sacked 
their  dun  and  burned  it  with  fire." 

Foil  hearing  that  word  became  very  angry,  and 
he  gripped  his  great  staff  and  advanced  to  make 


ACROSS   THE   HEARINGS   AND  AWAY  149 

a  sudden  end  of  Laeg  first,  and  then  of  the  sleeper. 
Laeg,  on  his  side,  drew  Cuculain's  sword.  Hardly 
and  using  all  his  strength,  could  he  do  so  and  at 
the  same  time  hold  himself  in  an  attitude  of 
defence  and  attack,  but  he  succeeded.  His 
aspect,  too,  was  high  and  warlike,  and  his  eyes 
shone  menacingly  the  while  his  heart  trembled, 
for  he  knew  too  well  that  he  was  no  match  for 
the  man. 

"  Go  back  now  for  thy  weapons  of  war,"  he 
cried,  "  and  all  thy  war-furniture,  and  thy 
instruments  of  sorcery  and  enchantment.  Truly 
thou  art  in  need  of  them  all." 

When  Foil  saw  how  the  enormous  sword 
flashed  in  the  lad's  hand,  and  saw  the  fierceness 
of  his  visage  and  heard  his  menacing  words,  he 
returned  to  the  dun.  The  people  of  the  dun 
were  now  awake,  and  they  clustered  like  bees 
on  the  slope  of  the  mound,  and  in  the  covered 
ways  beneath  the  eaves  and  along  the  rampart, 
and  they  hissed  and  roared  and  shouted  words 
of  insult  and  contumely,  lewd  and  gross,  concern- 
ing Laeg  and  concerning  that  other  youth  who 
slept  in  such  a  place  and  at  such  a  time.  But 
Laeg  stood  still  and  silent,  with  his  eyes  fixed 
on  the  dun,  and  with  the  point  of  his  sword 
leaning  on  the  ground,  for  his  right  hand  was 


150  THE   COMING   OF  CUCULAIN 

weary  on  account  of  its  great  weight.  Very 
ardently  he  longed  that  his  master  should  awake 
out  of  that  unreasonable  slumber.  Yet  he  made 
no  attempt  to  rouse  him,  for  it  was  unlawful 
to  awake  Cuculain  when  he  slept.  Conspicuous 
amongst  the  people  of  the  dun  were  Foil's 
brethren,  Tuatha  and  Fenla,  Tuatha  vast  in 
bulk,  and  Fenla,  tall  and  swift,  wearing  a 
mantle  of  pale  blue.  Around  Fenla  stood  the 
three  cup-bearers,  who  drew  water  from  the 
magic  well,  Flesc,  Lesc,  and  Leam  were  their 
names.  At  the  same  time  that  Foil  reappeared 
in  the  doorway  of  the  dun,  fully  armed  and 
equipped  for  battle,  Cuculain  awoke  and  sat  up. 
At  first  he  was  dazed  and  bewildered,  for  divine 
voices  were  sounding  in  his  ears,  and  fleeting 
visionary  presences  were  departing  from  him. 
Then  he  heard  the  people  how  they  shouted  and 
saw  his  enemy  descending  the  slope  of  the  dun, 
sights  and  sounds  indeed  diverse  from  those 
his  dreams  and  visions.  With  a  cry  he  started 
from  his  bed,  like  a  deer  starting  from  his  lair, 
and  the  people  of  the  dun  fell  suddenly  silent 
when  they  beheld  the  velocity  of  his  move- 
ments, the  splendour  of  his  beauty,  and  the 
rapidity  with  which  he  armed  himself  and  stood 
forth  for  war. 


ACROSS   THE  MEAEINGS   AND  AWAY  151 

"  That  champion  is  Foil,  son  of  Nectan/*  said 
Laeg,  "  and  there  is  not  one  in  the  world  with 
whom  it  is  more  difficult  to  contend  both  in  other 
respects  and  chiefly  in  this,  that  there  is  but  one 
weapon  wherewith  he  may  be  slain.  To  all 
others  he  is  invulnerable.  That  weapon  is  an 
iron  bail  having  magic  properties,  and  no  man 
knows  where  to  look  for  it,  or  where  the  man 
hath  hidden  it  away.  And  O  my  dear  master, 
thou  goest  forth  to  certain  death  going  forth 
against  that  man." 

"  Have  no  fear  on  that  account,"  said  Cucu- 
lain,  "  for  it  has  been  revealed  to  me  where  he 
hides  it.  It  is  a  ges  to  him  to  wear  it  always 
on  his  breast  above  his  armour,  but  beneath 
his  mantle  and  tunic.  There  it  is  suspended 
by  a  strong  chain  of  brass  around  his  neck.  With 
that  ball  I  shall  slay  him  in  the  manner  in  which 
I  have  been  directed  by  those  who  visited  me 
while  I  slept." 

Then  they  fought,  and  in  the  first  close  so 
vehement  was  the  onset  of  Foil,  that  Cuculain 
could  do  no  more  than  defend  himself,  and 
around  the  twain  sparks  flew  up  in  showers 
as  from  a  smithy  where  a  blacksmith  and  his 
lusty  apprentices  strongly  beat  out  the  red  iron. 
The  second  was  similar  to  the  first,  and  equally 


152  THE   COMING   OF   CUCULAIN 

without  results.  In  the  third  close  Cuculain, 
having  sheathed  his  sword,  sprang  upwards  and 
dashed  his  shield  into  the  giant's  face,  and  at 
the  same  time  he  tore  from  its  place  of  conceal- 
ment the  magic  ball,  rending  mightily  the  brazen 
chain.  And  he  leaped  backwards,  and  taking 
a  swift  aim,  threw.  The  ball  flew  from  the 
young  hero's  hand  like  a  bolt  from  a  sling,  and 
it  struck  the  giant  in  the  middle  of  the  forehead 
below  the  rim  of  his.  helmet,  but  above  his 
blazing  eyes,  and  the  ball  crashed  through  the 
strong  frontal  bone,  and  tore  its  way  through 
the  hinder  part  of  his  head,  and  went  forth, 
carrying  the  brains  with  it  in  its  course,  so  that 
there  was  a  free  tunnel  and  thoroughfare  for  all 
the  winds  of  heaven  there.  With  a  crash  and 
a  ringing,  armour  and  weapons,  the  giant  fell 
upon  the  plain  and  his  blood  poured  forth  in  a 
torrent  there  where  he  himself  invulnerable  had 
shed  the  blood  of  so  many  heroes.  Laeg  rejoiced 
greatly  at  that  feat,  and  with  a  loud  voice  bade 
the  men  of  the  dun  bring  forth  their  next 
champion.  This  was  Tuatha  the  second  son  of 
Nectan,  and  the  fiercest  of  the  three,  he  buffeted 
his  esquires  and  gillas,  while  they  armed  him,  so 
that  it  was  a  sore  task  for  them  to  clasp  and 
strap  and  brace  his  armour  upon  him  that  day. 


ACROSS   THE   HEARINGS   AND   AWAY  153 

for  their  faces  were  bloody  from  his  hands,  and 
the  floor  of  the  armoury  was  strewn  with  their 
teeth.  That  armour  was  a  marvel  and  astonish- 
ment to  all  who  saw  it,  so  many  thick,  hard 
skins  of  wild  oxen  of  the  mountains  had  been 
stitched  together  to  furnish  forth  the  champion's 
coat  of  mail.  It  was  strengthened,  too,  with 
countless  bars  and  rings  of  brass  sewed  fast  to  it 
all  over,  and  it  encompassed  the  whole  of  his 
mighty  frame,  from  his  shoulders  to  his  feet.  The 
helmet  and  neckpiece  were  one,  wrought  in  like 
manner,  only  stronger.  The  helmet  covered 
his  face.  There  was  no  opening  there  save 
breathing  shts  and  two  round  holes  through 
which  his  eyes  shone  terribly.  On  his  feet  were 
strong  shoes  bound  with  brass.  To  any  other 
man  but  himself  this  armour  >X^ould  have  been 
an  encumbrance,  for  it  was  good  and  sufficient 
loading  for  a  car  drawn  by  one  yoke  of  oxen  ; 
but  so  clad,  this  man  was  aware  of  no  unusual 
weight.  When  they  had  clasped  him  and 
braced  him  to  his  satisfaction,  and,  indeed,  that 
was  not  easy,  they  put  upon  him  his  tunic  of 
dusky  grey,  and  over  that  his  mantle  of  dark 
crimson,  and  fastened  it  on  his  breast  with  a 
brooch  whose  wheel  alone  would  task  one  man's 
full  strength  to  hft  from  the  ground. 


154  '^^^  COMING  OF  CUCTJLAIN 

Then  Tuatha  went  forth  out  of  the  dun,  and 
when  his  people  saw  him  they  shouted  mightily, 
for  before  that  they  had  been  greatly  dismayed, 
and  cast  down  on  account  of  the  slaying  of  Foil, 
whom  till  then  they  had  deemed  invincible. 
They  were  all  males  dwelling  here  together  in 
sorcery  and  common  lust  for  blood.  No  woman 
brightened  their  dark  assemblies  and  the  voice 
of  a  child  was  never  heard  within  the  dun  or 
around  it.  So  they  rejoiced  greatly  when  they 
beheld  Tuatha  and  saw  him  how  wrathfully  he 
came  forth,  breathing  slaughter,  and  heard  his 
voice  ;  for  terribly  he  shouted  as  he  strode  down 
from  the  dun,  and  he  banned  and  cursed  Cuculain 
and  Laeg,  and  devoted  them  to  his  gloomy  gods. 
Beneath  his  feet  the  rnassive  timbers  of  the  draw- 
bridge bent  and  creaked. 

Said  Laeg,  "  This  man,  O  dear  Setanta,  is  far 
more  terrible  than  the  first,  for  he  is  said  to  be 
altogether  invulnerable  and  proof  against  any 
weapon  that  was  ever  made." 

*'  It  is  not  altogether  thus,"  said  Cuculain, 
**  but  if  the  man  escapes  the  first  stroke  he  is 
thenceforward  invincible,  and  surely  slays  his 
foe.  Therefore  give  into  my  hand  Concobar's 
unendurable  and  mighty  ashen  spear,  for  I  must 
make  an  end  of  him  at  one  cast  or  not  at  all." 


ACKOSS   THE  HEARINGS   AND   AWAY  155 

Tuatha  now  rushed  upon  Cuculain,  flinging 
darts,  of  which  he  carried  many  in  his  left  hand. 
Not  one  of  them  did  Cuculain  attempt  to  take 
upon  his  shield,  but  altogether  eluded  them,  for 
now  he  swerved  to  one  side  and  now  to  another, 
and  now  he  dropped  on  one  knee  and  again 
sprang  high  in  air,  so  that  the  missile  hurtled 
and  hissed  between  his  gathered  feet.  Truly 
since  the  beginning  of  the  world  there  was  not, 
and  to  the  end  of  the  world  there  will  not  be,  a 
better  leaper  than  thy  nursling,  daughter  of 
Cathvah  ;  and  behind  him  all  the  lawn  was  as 
it  were  sown  thick  with  spears,  and  these  so 
buried  in  the  earth  that  two-thirds  of  their 
length  was  concealed  and  a  third  only  projected 
slantwise  from  the  green  and  glittering  sward. 
When  the  man  with  all  his  force,  fury,  and  venom 
had  discharged  his  last  shaft  and  seen  it,  too, 
shoot  screaming  beneath  the  aerial  feet  of  the 
hero,  he  roared  so  terribly  that  the  shores  and 
waters  of  the  Boyne  and  the  surrounding  woods 
and  groves  returned  a  hollow  moan,  and,  laying 
his  right  hand  on  the  hand-grip  of  his  sword,  he 
rushed  upon  Cuculain.  At  that  moment  Cucu- 
lain poised  the  broad-bladed  spear  of  Concobar 
Mac  Nessa  and  cast  it  at  the  man,  who  was  now 
very  near,  and  came  rushing  on  like  a  storm. 


156  THE  COMING  OP  CUCULAIN 

having  his  vast  sword  drawn  and  flashing. 
That  cast  no  one  could  rightly  blame  whether 
as  to  force  or  direction,  for  the  brazen  blade 
caught  the  son  of  Nectan  full  on  breast  under 
the  left  pap  and  tore  through  his  thick  and 
strong  armour  and  burst  three  rib  bones,  and 
fixed  itself  in  his  heart,  so  that  he  fell  first  upon 
his  knees,  stumbling  forward,  and  then  rolled 
over  on  the  plain  and  a  torrent  of  black  blood 
gushed  from  his  mouth  and  nostrils. 

"  That  was  indeed  a  brave  cast,"  said  Laeg, 
*'  for  the  coat  is  the  thickness  of  seven  bulls' 
hides,  and  plated  besides,  and  the  rib-bones, 
through  which  Concobar's  great  spear  impelled 
by  thee  hath  burst  his  victorious  way,  are 
stronger  than  the  thigh-bones  of  a  horse  ;  but 
pluck  out  the  spear  now,  for  it  is  beyond  my  power 
to  do  so,  and  stand  well  upon  thy  guard,  for  the 
two  combats  past  will  be  as  child's  play  to  that 
which  now  awaits  thee.  Fenla,  the  third  son 
of  Nectan,  is  preparing  himself  for  battle. 
He  is  called  the  Swallow,  because  there  is  not  a 
man  in  the  world  swifter  to  retreat,  or  swifter 
to  pursue.  He  is  more  at  home  in  the  water 
than  on  the  dry  land,  for  through  it  he  dives 
like  a  water-dog,  and  glides  hke  an  eel,  and 
rushes  Hke  a  salmon  when  in  the  spring-time 


ACROSS   THE   HEARINGS   AND   AWAY  157 

he  seeks  the  upper  pools.  Greatly  I  fear  that 
his  challenge  and  defiance  will  be  to  do  battle 
with  him  there,  where  no  man  born  of  woman 
can  meet  him  and  live." 

"  Say  not  so,  O  Laeg,"  said  Cuculain,  "  and  be 
not  so  afraid  and  cast  down,  but  still  keep  a 
cheerful  heart  in  thy  breast  and  a  high  and  brave 
countenance  before  the  people  of  the  dun.  For 
my  tutor  Fergus  paid  a  good  heed  to  my  edu- 
cation in  the  whole  art  of  war  and  especially 
as  to  swimming.  He  is  himself  a  most  noble 
swimmer  and  I  have  profited  by  his  instructions. 
Once  he  put  me  to  the  test.  It  was  in  the 
great  swimming  bath  in  the  Callan,  dug  out, 
it  is  said,  by  the  Firbolgs  in  the  ancient  days, 
and  the  trial  was  in  secret  and  its  issue  has  not 
been  revealed  to  this  day.  On  that  occasion 
I  swam  round  the  bath  holding  two  well-grown 
boys  in  my  right  arm  and  two  in  my  left,  and 
there  was  a  fifth  sitting  on  my  shoulders  with 
his  hands  clasped  on  my  forehead,  and  my  back 
was  not  wetted  by  the  Callan.  Therefore  dismiss 
thy  fear  and  answer  thou  their  challenge  with  a 
strong  voice  and  a  cheerful  countenance." 

Laeg  did  that  and  he  answered  their  challenge 
with  a  voice  that  rang,  striking  fear  into  the 
hearts  of  those    who    heard  him.     Forthwith, 


158  THE  COMING   OF   CUCULAIN 

then,  Fenla,  wearing  sword  and  shield,  sprang 
at  a  bound  over  the  rampart  and  foss,  and  his 
course  thence  to  the  Boyne  was  Hke  a  flash 
of  blue  and  white  and  he  plunged  into  the  dark 
stream  like  a  bright  spear,  and  diving  beneath 
the  flood  he  emerged  a  great  way  off,  and  cried 
aloud  for  his  foe. 

"  I  am  here,"  cried  Cuculain,  at  his  side. 
"  Cease  thy  shouting  and  look  to  thyself,  for  it 
is  not  my  custom  to  take  advantage  of  any  man." 

Marvellous  and  terrible  was  the  battle  which 
then  ensued  between  these  champions.  For  the 
spray  and  the  froth  and  the  flying  spume  of  the 
convulsed  and  agitated  waters  around  that 
warring  twain,  rose  in  white  clouds,  and  owing 
to  the  fierceness  of  the  combat  and  the  displace- 
ment of  the  waters  around  them,  the  Boyne 
on  either  hand  beat  her  green  margin  with  sud- 
den and  unusual  billows,  for  the  divine  river 
was  taken  with  a  great  surprise  on  that  occasion. 
Amid  the  roar  of  the  waters  ever  sounded  the 
dry  clash  of  the  meeting  swords  and  the  clang  of 
the  smitten  shields  and  the  ringing  of  helmets. 
Sometimes  one  champion  would  dive  seeking  an 
advantage,  and  the  other  would  dive  too,  in 
order  to  elude  or  meet  the  assault.  Then  the 
frothing    surface    of  the  stream   would  clear 


ACEOSS   THE  MEAEINGS   AND*  AWAY  159 

itself,  and  the  Boyne  run  dark  as  before,  though 
the  mounted  water  showed  that  the  combat 
still  raged  in  its  depths.  The  swallows,  too, 
had  been  scared  away,  returning,  skimmed 
the  surface,  and  the  bird  which  is  the  most 
beautiful  of  all  darted  a  bright  streak  low  across 
the  dark  water.  Anon  the  submerged  cham- 
pions, coming  to  the  surface  for  breath,  renewed 
their  deadly  combat  amid  foaming  waters  and 
clouds  of  spray.  The  full  particulars  of  this 
combat  are  not  related,  only  that  the  wizard- 
champion  grew  weaker,  while  his  vigour  and 
strength  continued  unabated  with  the  son  of 
Sualtam,  and  that  in  the  end  he  slew  the  other, 
and  in  the  sight  of  all  he  cut  off  his  head  and 
flung  it  from  the  middle  Boyne  to  the  shore,  and 
that  the  headless  trunk  of  Fenla,  son  of  Nectan, 
floated  down-stream  to  the  sea.  When  the  people 
of  the  dun  saw  that,  they  brake  forth  west-ward 
and  fled.  Then  Cuculain  and  Laeg  invaded  the 
dun,  and  they  burst  open  the  doors  of  the  strong 
chambers,  and  of  the  dungeons  beneath  the 
earth,  and  let  loose  the  prisoners  and  the  hostages 
and  the  prepared  victims,  and  they  broke  the 
idols  and  the  instruments  of  sorcery,  and  filled 
in  the  well.  After  that  they  replenished  the 
vacant  places  of  the  war-car  with  things  the  most 


l6o  THE  COMING   OF   CUCULAIN 

precious  and  such  as  were  portable,  and  gave 
all  the  rest  to  the  liberated  captives  for  a  prey. 
Last  of  all  they  applied  fire  to  the  vast  dun, 
and  quickly  the  devouring  flames  shot  heaven- 
ward, fed  with  pine  and  red  yew,  and  rolled 
forth  a  mighty  pillar  of  black  smoke,  reddened 
with  rushing  sparks  and  flaming  embers.  The 
men  of  Tara  saw  it,  and  the  men  of  Tlatga,  and 
of  Tailteen,  and  of  Ben-Eadar,  and  they  con- 
sulted their  prophets  and  wizards  as  to  what 
this  portent  might  mean,  for  it  was  not  a  little 
smoke  that  the  burning  of  Dun-Mic-Nectan  sent 
forth  that  day. 


CHAPTER  XVI 

THE  RETURN  OF  CUCULAIN 

"  The  g-olden  gates  of  sleep  unbar 

When  strength  and  beauty  met  together 
Kindle  their  image  like  a  star 
In  a  sea  of  glassy  weather." 

Shelley. 

Then  Laeg  harnessed  the  horses  and  yoked  the 
chariot.  To  the  brazen  peaks  of  the  chariot  he 
fastened  the  heads  of  Foil  and  of  Tuatha,  with 
Foil's  on  the  left  hand  and  Tuatha's  on  the  right ; 
and  the  long-haired  head  of  the  water-wizard  he 
made  fast  by  its  own  hair  to  the  ornament  of 
silver  that  was  at  the  forward  extremity  of  the 
great  chariot  pole.  When  this  was  done,  and 
when  he  had  secured  his  master's  weapons  and 
warlike  equipments  in  their  respective  places, 
the  youths  ascended  the  chariot,  and  Laeg  shook 
the  ringing  reins  and  called  to  the  steeds  to  go, 
and  th^y  went,  and  soon  they  were  on  the  hard 
highway  straining  forward  to  the  north.  The 
sound  of  the  war-car  behind  them  outroared  the 

i6i 


l62  THfe  COMING   OF   CUCULAIN 

roaring  of  the  flames.  Cuculain  was  a  pale  red 
all  over,  for  ere  the  last  combat  was  at  an  end 
that  pool  of  the  Boyne  was  like  one  bath  of 
blood.  His  eyes  blazed  terribly  in  his  head, 
and  his  face  was  fearful  to  look  upon.  Like  a 
reed  in  a  river  so  he  quaked  and  trembled,  and 
there  went  out  from  him  a  moaning  like  the 
moaning  of  winds  through  deep  woods  or  deso- 
late glens,  or  over  the  waste  places  of  the  earth 
when  darkness  is  abroad.  For  the  war-fury 
which  the  Northmen  named  after  the  Barserkers 
enwrapped  and  inflamed  him,  body  and  spirit, 
owing  to  those  strenuous  combats,  and  owing 
to  the  venom  and  the  poison  which  exhaled  from 
those  children  of  sorcery,  that  spawn  of  Death 
and  Hell,  so  that  his  gentle  mind  became  as  it 
were  the  meeting-place  of  storms  and  the  con- 
fluence of  shouting  seas.  A  man  ran  before  him 
whose  hratta  on  the  wind  roared  like  fire,  and 
there  was  a  sound  of  voices  calling  and  acclaim- 
ing, and  a  noontide  darkness  descended  upon 
him  and  accompanied  him  as  he  went,  and  all 
became  obscure  and  shapeless,  and  all  the  ways 
were  murk.  And  the  mind  of  Laeg,  too,  was 
disturbed  and  shaken  loose  from  its  strong 
foundations. 

"  But  now,"  said  Cuculain,  "  there  ran  a  man 


THE  RETURN  OF  CUCULAIN  I63 

before  us.  Him  I  do  not  see,  but  what  is  this 
herd  of  monstrous  deer,  sad-coloured  and  Hvid, 
as  with  horns  and  hoofs  of  iron  ?  I  have  not 
seen  such  at  any  time.  Lurid  fire  plays  round 
them  as  they  flee." 

"  No  deer  of  the  earth  are  they,"  said  Laeg. 
*'  They  are  the  enchanted  herd  of  Slieve  Fuad, 
and  from  their  abode  subterrene  they  have  come 
up  late  into  the  world  surrounded  by  night  that 
they  may  graze  upon  Eiriu's  plains,  and  it  is  not 
lawful  even  to  look  upon  them." 

"  Pursue  and  run  down  those  deer,"  said 
Cuculain. 

"  There  is  fear  upon  me,"  said  Laeg. 

*'  Alive  or  dead  thou  shalt  come  with  me  on 
this  adventure,  though  it  lead  us  into  the  mighty 
realms  of  the  dead,"  cried  Cuculain. 

Laeg  relaxed  his  hands  upon  the  reins  and  let 
the  steeds  go,  and  they  chased  the  enchanted 
herd  of  Slieve  Fuad.  There  was  no  hunting 
seen  like  that  before  in  Erin.  So  vehement  was 
the  chase  that  a  twain  of  the  herd  was  run  down 
and  they  upon  their  knees  and  sobbing.  Cuculain 
sprang  from  the  chariot  and  he  made  fast  one  of 
the  deer  to  the  pole  of  the  chariot  to  run  before, 
and  on  to  the  hinder  part  of  it  to  run  behind. 
So  the}^  went  northward  again  with  a  deer  of  the 


164  THE  COMING   OP"  CUCULAIN 

herd  of  Hell  running  before  them  and  another 
following  behind. 

"  What  are  those  birds  whiter  than  snow  and 
more  briUiant  than  stars,"  said  then  Cuculain, 
"  which  are  before  us  upon  the  plain,  as  if  Heaven 
with  its  astral  lights  and  splendour  were  out- 
spread before  us  there  ?  " 

"  They  are  the  wild  geese  of  the  enchanted 
flocks  of  Lir,"  answered  Laeg.  "  From  his  vast 
and  ever-during  realms  beneath  the  sea  they  have 
come  up  through  the  dim  night  to  feed  on 
Banba's  plains.  Have  nought  to  do  with  those 
birds,  dear  master." 

Cuculain  stood  up  in  his  chariot  with  his  sling 
in  his  hand,  and  he  fitted  thereto  small  bolts, 
and  slang.  He  did  not  make  an  end  before  he 
had  overthrown  and  laid  low  three  score  of  the 
birds  of  Lir. 

"  Go  bring  me  those  birds,"  said  he  to  Laeg. 
The  horses  were  plunging  terribly  when  he  said 
that. 

"  I  may  not,  O  my  master,"  said  Laeg.  "  For 
even  now,  and  with  the  reins  in  my  hand,  I  am 
unable  to  restrain  their  fury  and  their  madness, 
to  such  a  degree  have  their  noble  minds  been 
disturbed  by  the  sorcery  and  the  druidism  and 
the   enchantment   with   which   they   are   sur- 


THE  RETURN  OF  CUCULAIN  165 

rounded.  And  I  fear  that  soon  the  brazen  wheels 
will  fail  me,  or  that  the  axle-tree  will  fail  me  by 
reason  of  their  coUidings  with  the  rocks  and 
diffs  of  the  land,  when  the  horses  shall  have 
escaped  from  my  control  and  shall  have  rushed 
forth  like  hurricanes  over  the  earth." 

Forthwith  Cuculain  sprang  out  in  front  of  the 
chariot,  and  seized  them  by  their  mouths  and 
they  in  their  rearing,  and  with  his  hands  bowed 
down  their  heads  to  the  earth,  and  they  knew 
their  master  and  stood  still  while  they  quaked. 
Laeg  collected  the  birds,  and  Cuculain  secured 
them  to  the  chariot  and  to  the  harness.  The 
birds  returned  to  life  and  Cuculain  cut  the 
binding  cords,  so  that  the  birds  flew  over  and 
on  either  side  of  the  chariot,  and  singing  besides. 

In  that  manner,  speeding  northward,  Cuculain 
and  Laeg  drew  nigh  to  Emain  Macha.  Concobar 
and  the  Ultonians  happened  at  that  very  time  to 
be  seeking  a  druidic  response  from  the  prophetess 
Lavarcam  concerning  Cuculain  and  concerning 
Laeg,  for  their  minds  misgave  them  that  beyond 
the  mearings  of  the  Province  the  lads  had  come 
to  some  hurt,  and  Lavarcam,  answering  them, 
said  : 

"  Look  to  yourselves  now  ye  children  of  Rury, 
Your  destruction  and  the  end  of  your  career  are  at  hand. 
Close  all  gates,   shoot  every  bar.    For  Dethcaen's  nursling:, 
Sualtam's  son,  draweth  nigh. 


l66  THE  COMING   OP  CUCULAIN 

Verily  he  is  not  hurt,  but  he  hath  wounded. 

Champions  the  mightiest  he  hath  victoriously  overthrown. 

Though  he  come  swiftly  it  is  not  in  flight. 

Take  good  heed  now  while  there  is  time. 

He  Cometh  like  night  in  raiment  of  darkness, 

Starry  singing  flocks  are  round  his  head, 

Soon,  O  Concobar,  his  unendurable  hand  will  be  upon  you ; 

Soon  your  dead  will  outnumber  your  living." 

*'  Close  all  the  gates  of  Emain,"  cried  Conco- 
bar, "  and  treble-bar  all  with  bars.  Look  to 
your  weapons  ye  heroes  of  the  Red  Branch. 
Man  the  ramparts,  and  let  every  bridge  be 
raised." 

So  the  high  king  shouted,  and  his  voice  rang 
through  the  vast  and  high  dun  and  rolled  along 
the  galleries  and  far-stretching  corridors,  and  was 
heard  by  the  women  of  Ulla  in  their  secluded 
chambers.  And  at  the  same  time  the  watchman 
from  the  watch-tower  cried  out.  Then  the 
women  held  council  together,  and  they  said  : 

"  Moats  and  ramparts  and  strong  doors  will 
not  repel  Cuculain.  He  will  surely  o'erleap  the 
moat  and  burst  through  the  doors  and  slay 
many." 

And  as  they  debated  together  they  said  that 
they  alone  would  save  the  city  and  defeat  the 
war-demons  who  had  Cuculain  in  their  power. 
For  they  said — "  His  virginity  is  with  him,  and 
his  beautiful  shamefastness,   and  his  humility 


THE  RETURN  OF  CUCULAIN  167 

and  reverence  for  women,  whether  they  be  old 
or  young,  and  whether  they  be  comely  or  not 
comely.  And  this  was  his  way  always,  and  now 
more  than  formerly  since  young  love  hath  des- 
cended upon  him  in  the  form  of  Emer,  daughter 
of  Fargal  Manach,  King  of  Lusk  in  the  south." 

Then  the  women  of  the  Ultonians  did  a  great 
and  memorable  deed,  and  such  as  was  not  known 
to  have  been  done  at  any  time  in  Erin. 

They  bade  all  the  men  retire  into  the  dun  after 
they  had  lowered  the  bridge  ;  and  when  that  was 
done  three  tens  of  them,  such  as  were  the  most 
illustrious  in  rank  and  famous  for  accomplish- 
ments, and  they  all  in  the  prime  of  their  youth 
and  beauty,  and  clad  only  in  the  pure  raiment 
of  their  womanhood,  came  forth  out  of  the 
quarters  of  the  women,  and  in  that  order,  in 
spite  of  shame  they  went  to  meet  him.  When 
Cuculain  saw  them  advancing  towards  him  in 
lowly  wise,  with  exposed  bosom  and  hands 
crossed  on  their  breasts,  his  weapons  fell  from 
his  hands  and  the  war-demons  fled  out  of  him, 
and  low  in  the  chariot  he  bent  down  his  noble 
head.  By  them  he  was  conducted  into  the 
dun,  into  a  chamber  which  they  had  prepared 
for  him,  and  they  drew  water  and  filled  his 
kieve,  and  there  Laeg  ministered  to  him.     He 


l68  THE   COMING   OF  CUCULAIN 

was   like   one   fiery   glowing   mass — ^like   iron 
plucked  red  out  of  the  furnace. 

When  he  had  entered  his  bath  the  water 
boiled  around  him.  After  he  had  bathed  and 
when  he  became  calm  and  cool  Laeg  put  upon 
him  his  beautiful  banqueting  attire,  and  he 
came  into  the  great  hall  lowly  and  blushing. 
All  were  acclaiming  and  praising  him,  and  he 
passed  up  the  great  hall  and  made  a  reverence 
to  the  King,  and  he  sat  down  at  the  King's 
footstool.  All  who  saw  him  marvelled  then 
more  at  his  beauty  than  at  his  deeds.  He  was 
sick  after  that,  and  came  very  near  to  death, 
but  in  the  end  he  fell  into  a  very  deep  sleep  from 
which  he  awoke  whole  and  refreshed,  though  it 
was  the  opinion  of  many  that  he  would  surely 
die.  Cuculain  was  seventeen  years  of  age  when 
he  did  these  feats. 


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^  V  ^  ^^  COLLEGE  LIBRARY 

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